Safe with You
by KatieLizJane
Summary: The crew is home after seven years, but secrets and conspiracies complicate Kathryn's life. This is a J/C Story.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I make no money. Someone else owns the Characters from Voyager. I hope you enjoy reading this story, and I hope you'll write a review, because that is all the payment I'll be getting. Thanks.

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Kathryn stared at the handsome man in front of her. He was a force to be reckoned with; tall, muscular, and dangerous. He wore his dark hair just long enough to be brushed back and his skin had a golden tone just as if he'd had a bit of sun, even when he hadn't. She was impressed with his presence, she always had been, but it wasn't until this moment that she had ever considered comparing the younger man to her first officer. He wasn't as broad shouldered as her XO, his skin was a shade or two lighter, his features more narrow but well defined, and he was a bit taller but more slender. When he arrived Chakotay had been the stronger of the two, or so it had seemed, but today Ayala's muscles were clearly larger and better defined. Maybe he'd spent the last seven years pumping holographic iron on the holodecks. What had made her compare the two; well that was simple really. Mike Ayala was trying to protect her, much as Chakotay had done, during a time that now, seemed so long ago.

Ayala reached out a strong, supportive hand toward her and she took it gratefully. They stood together only seconds away from exiting _Voyager _to finally set foot upon the Earth. The rest of the crew was already down below, not quite at the bottom yet, waiting for their commanding officers, or at least that had been their intention. Chakotay had surprised them all by making his exit with Seven, leaving Kathryn to the spotlight on her own, or so he thought. No one else had noticed that former Maquis, Mike Ayala, had lingered behind. As the crew waited patiently towards the bottom of the ramp for the Captain to emerge, their families waited patiently, flanked by swarms of reporters, behind a Starfleet security line. Janeway appeared at the top of the ramp holding on to Ayala's arm. She waved at the crowd, then glanced at Mike, bringing her free hand to the arm she was holding she gave him a quick squeeze and they headed down the ramp. The crew clapped and cheered their captain until she joined them at the bottom of the ramp. Suddenly both crowds broke through their respective barriers. All around crewmembers searched for, found, and hugged, their friends and family in a flurry of excitement.

Chakotay took a little longer than most to move, rooted to the spot with leaden legs; Seven at his side. He stood frozen watching intensely as Kathryn gave Ayala that warm gesture that had once been reserved for him. She hadn't told him she was planning to disembark with another member of the crew. He would have accompanied her; after all it was a place he was clearly more suited for than the security officer at her side. Jealously rose up inside him, like a small flame, fanned by the winds of bitterness. Taking care of Kathryn was his job. Not that he'd been very good at it recently. He felt himself redden with anger, but fought it off knowing he had no right to feel that way. Not after his meaningless romp with Seven; if two kisses could be called a romp. SEVEN of all people. Kathryn would never forgive him, he knew it. Kathryn would feel he took advantage of the young borg. He felt like he was going to be sick. He felt Seven's hand on him and quickly remembered why he hadn't offered to disembark with Janeway, he had promised to be there for Seven when they reached Earth. He hadn't even asked Kathryn about her plans at all. He gave up the right to stand by the love of his life for two kisses, and a few dates with a former borg drone. He couldn't have acted any more foolish if he had been trying.

"Is something wrong, Commander?" Seven had reverted to his rank when, realizing that Voyager was actually home in the Alpha quadrant, they broke off their relationship. Seven had tried to break it off while they were still in the Delta quadrant believing that the Admiral would lead them home. But they had gotten their hopes up so many times only to have them dashed time after time that Chakotay decided that it probably wouldn't happen this time either and he didn't want to condemn himself to a lonely, loveless future and, therefore, had refused to dissolve their relationship. If one could call it a relationship. She had asked him to help her expand her social skills in the area of dating, or forming a personal collective, as she had put it. That should have sent him running, given his experience with Riley, but sometimes desperation and loneliness leads to flat out stupidity. He understood that this was a way for Seven to gain experience, not an attempt at a meaningful relationship, but he had been so lonely it hadn't mattered. He was glad to have a connection with someone, anyone, and the young attractive woman's attention had been good for his ego. Knowing Seven was using him, she had been quite clear that it was a learning experience for her, had made it easier for him to pretend it was okay. He wasn't using her any more than she was using him. She was willing to give him the physical contact he craved, sort of. After all Kathryn had had Jaffen on Quarra, didn't he deserve a little warmth, affection, and a bit of physical attention, too? Despite his own mental justifications, he still felt deeply ashamed of what he was doing during the few weeks on Voyager and, therefore, had avoided Kathryn as much as possible. He turned down all her invitations to dine together, and avoided all her efforts to converse outside of work.

"No, nothing. Let's go find your Aunt." Chakotay steered the former drone into the crowd. He had promised to stay with her until her Aunt was found. They found and greeted the kindly older woman, and Chakotay turned Seven over to the woman's motherly care. He had begun to walk away, headed out and away from the reunion site, knowing no one would be in the crowd to greet him. Suddenly a collective gasp rose from the crowd. He searched for a moment before his eye swept over an unconscious Kathryn, cradled in Ayala's arms. Flashes from holoimagers lit up the scene and chaos erupted, but for Chakotay the entire scene before him froze. Ayala held Kathryn securely in his arms, his face looking down at hers with deep concern. Kathryn's arms hung down limply. Her eyes, those wonderfully intense blue eyes, were closed, and her face was pale. Reality snapped back into place and the scene began to move again. Kathryn was regaining consciousness and instinctively wrapped her arms around Ayala's neck. Her ever devoted and loyal crew opened up a path toward the nearest building, creating a human barrier on either side. Voyager's security teams quickly ushered her into the building clearing the path, former maquis standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow Starfleet crewmen, to protect their captain against the mob of reporters trying to get a story. The senior staff, along with other Voyagers, plus Owen Paris, Gretchen Janeway and Phoebe Janeway were allowed through, the media was kept out.

Chakotay approached the guarded door with only one question. "Is the Captain okay?"

Crewman Celes was exiting and quickly moved aside to let him through, but he declined. He couldn't face Kathryn now. "Just tell me she's ok, I don't want to intrude." Celes looked at Chakotay like he had just grown another head. Everyone knew he was the person closest to Janeway, or at least he had been, until very recently.

VVVVVV

Ayala gently lowered Kathryn onto an over-stuffed arm chair in the Starfleet building. She quickly waved away the crowd forming around her. Admirals Paris, Hayes, and Patterson, all once good friends with Edward Janeway, gathered around and watched her with concern.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. It was just… the excitement… it's been a lot for one day. I'll be alright. Admirals, can I just go home with Mother now? I promise to have the EMH look me over and send you a report by tomorrow."

"I suppose, Katie." Answered Owen Paris. In the days following their unexpected return to the Alpha Quadrant the EMH had completed physicals on the entire crew and sent down medical reports clearing them to disembarked. They were all virus free and relatively healthy, therefore, there was little Admiral Paris could do but take her at her word. "I expect the EMH to contact me first thing tomorrow."

"You have accommodations ready for all my crew members who don't have family or a place to stay?" Kathryn asked Owen.

"Yes, Katie. Just as we promised they all have temporary Starfleet housing, and those planning to stay with us will eventually be able to get an apartment. I expect the entire crew back here the day after New Year for debriefing. No one is to leave Earth." Owen Paris repeated the instructions he had already given several times.

"They are all aware of their orders. I expect them all to be here." Then turning to her mother, Kathryn said, "Let's go home, Mom."

As they walked out Gretchen Janeway turned to her daughter and said, "I hope you don't mind honey we're planning a New Year's Eve party for the entire crew. We were just so happy to hear that you were coming home. I've arranged for Owen to send the invitations tonight, once he knows where everyone has settled; unless you're not up to having a party."

Kathryn groaned inwardly but only managed to croak out, "It's fine, Mother."

VVVVV

Chakotay stood outside while Crewman Celes assured him that the Captain was fine. "Go on in and see her for yourself, Commander." She insisted.

"No, I'll just let her be with her family. I'm sure that's what she would want." He hesitated and thanked Tal Celes before walking away. He needed to check in to the Starfleet housing office and get his quarters assigned. His sister, Sekaya, was in the late stages of pregnancy and was unable to come; no one would be meeting _him_ here today.

Chakotay entered his assigned standard room and dropped his bag on the floor. It landed by a small standard breakfast table with a thump and there it remained for the rest of the afternoon. He didn't bother to unpack. He didn't bother to eat. He didn't bother to bother about much of anything. He simply lay on the standard Starfleet issue bed just where he landed and wondered how he had come to this. He should be out making sure no one was alone, offering support and comfort to all the former Maquis whom he knew had no one left. Instead he was wallowing in self-pity and shame.

Ayala was one of his closest friends, or so he thought. Of his all his crew on the Val Jean, Ayala was the one who had been with him the longest, almost from the very beginning. Mike knew how Chakotay felt about Kathryn, of course. In recent years Mike, however, had made it no secret that he found the Captain to be an amazing and beautiful woman. At the time Chakotay thought that maybe he was purposely trying to rile him; now he was convinced that Mike had also fallen for the Captain. _Shit!_ He thought. _All those years by her side, when we finally arrive in the alpha quadrant, where she's free to love whomever she chooses, I'm standing here with an adolescent sac of bolts who regulates her emotions with a freaken computer processor, and of course, Mike was all too happy to step into the space left empty._He sighed as he immediately felt guilty; it wasn't Mike or Seven's fault, it was his own.


	2. Chapter 2

I still don't make any money. I don't own the Characters or the show. My only form of payment is the reviews I get. I hope you enjoy. I will try to update this story two to three times a week. Thank you for reading.

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As Kathryn and Mike Ayala rode from the transport station in Indiana to her childhood home in her mother's ground car she thought about the strange twists her life had been taking. Paying no mind to the bumps and turns of the ride her mind wandered back.

_The chime to her ready room rang, sending hopeful but nervous jitters through her. She quickly allowed entry to the person on the other side; hoping it was Chakotay.__She had been looking for the opportunity to talk with him but so far he'd refused all of her invitations and asked for rain checks on every occasion.__The doors slid open with a hiss and in strolled Mike Ayala._

_ "__Captain, we need to talk." Ayala's demeanor was serious and Kathryn became concerned._

_ "__What about Lieutenant?" answered the Captain eyeing the Lieutenant for a clue as to why he seemed so worried._

_ "__Well, Captain, I'm not sure how you're going to take this or if you'll even believe me, but here goes.__My job is to protect you…"_

_She cut him off. __ "__I'm aware of that Lieutenant, you've often served as my personal security officer."_

_ "__No, ma'am, I mean, Captain. Hear me out, please. When I boarded the Val Jean I was undercover; covert ops."__He paused to let the information sink in.__ " __I was assigned to gather any information I could get regarding double agents in Starfleet who were passing information along to the Cardassians, not only about resources on the worlds in the DMZ but on the Maquis as well as the movements of Starfleet ships.__Double agents betraying Starfleet, and the people on those worlds, all for their own personal gain, be it financial or in the form of political power. __My superiors believed that as a Maquis I could help determine who was selling information, to both the Cardassians and the Maquis. I had my suspicions regarding Seska but I didn't believe she had ties to Starfleet, so she wasn't my objective. __Starfleet wanted to play it safe and avoid an overt breech of the treaty, but they were well aware that the Cardassians couldn't be trusted.__Their biggest concern, however, were the traitors within Starfleet."_

_After a moment of pondering what Ayala had said she finally replied, "So are you saying you're Starfleet?__You're under cover Starfleet, posing as Maquis, now posing as former Maquis turned Starfleet. __Does Chakotay know?" Kathryn stared at him in disbelief. _

_ "__No, he doesn't." _

_Kathryn thought about the implications of this information besides the fact that Chakotay would be royally pissed off._

_ "__What does this have to do with me, Mister Ayala?" Kathryn frowned and looked at her chronometer._

_Noticing where her gaze settled Ayala answered, "I'm sorry if I'm keeping you.__I'll try to make it quick.__Once we entered the Alpha Quadrant I received new orders.__My one and only job now is to ensure your safety, the chatter says the threat to you is very real and quite great.__It seems that there are those who've heard of Voyager's new technologies and would like to get their hands on it __**and **__on someone who can implement it.__I'm to stay very close to you until further notice."_

_ "__So B'Elanna is at risk."__Kathryn's concerns were still first and foremost for her crew._

_"__No, well… Yes, but she's married to one of us and has her own detail now."_

_"__What?! Tom?"_

_"__Yes, but that's another story, he won't know much about my orders, and my details on his work are limited as well. I can fill you in on what I know later. But, if it would help you believe me, Tom can confirm that we are both working covert ops.__Admiral Paris is unaware of his involvement in this; he thinks Tom's conviction was real.__But I'm getting into more detail than I should at this time.__The bottom line is I am to stay close to you and ensure your safety and you are to tell no one about this. There is someone, if not more than one someone, involved amongst the higher brass. "_

_"__How close are you to stay to me, Mister Ayala?" Kathryn wondered how much his presence would affect her day to day life.__She never liked to be hovered over._

_ "__Now that we've arrived in the Alpha Quadrant I've been told I'm not to leave your side. Your mother knows I'm coming home with you. I'm sure she's been given a credible reason for my presence."_

_Kathryn shook her head and threw her hands up.__ "__Of course."_

_ "__I don't know what she's been told; don't be surprised if she thinks our relationship is something that it's not."_

_ "__Walk with me Mr. Ayala.__I have a follow up appointment in sickbay. So tell me, why should I believe that you are on our side and not a double agent, yourself?"_

_ "__At this point, Captain, I guess you'll just have to trust me and Tom, if you choose to ask him.__You know I'd take a phaser blast for you."_

_ "__And you have, Mister Ayala.__I do trust you, and I trust Tom." Kathryn trusted them with her life._

The trip from the transport station to her mother's home wasn't very far. Kathryn's mother preferred to travel by hover car; even though the transporter pad in her Edward's old study still worked Gretchen didn't like using it. "We're here, dear. Kathryn? Kathryn, honey, are you okay?" Gretchen Janeway's concern was evident on her face. Worry lines creased her forehead. Kathryn smiled wanting to ease her mother's anxiety.

"Sorry, Mom. I was just… lost in thought." Kathryn answered vaguely.

Ayala unloaded the bit of luggage they had brought with them. The rest would be beamed off of Voyager and delivered in the next few days.

"Kathryn, I need to tell you something before we go inside." Gretchen stopped Kathryn on the porch.

"What is it, Mom?"

"I remarried. I'm sorry I hadn't gotten around to telling you, I was hoping to ease the news into one of our conversation but, you took us all by surprise, arriving so suddenly. Once Voyager was in the Alpha Quadrant… well you've been unavailable… I'm sure it was all the preparations for disembarking these last few days. You'll like Charles. Well, his name is Carlos, Carlos Delano, but everyone calls him Charles." Kathryn stood there shocked at her mother's revelation. The week had been full of changes and surprises; Kathryn didn't know how much more she could take.

She nodded her acknowledgement, so stunned for a moment she was unsure of what she should say. She finally found her voice. "How long have you been married?"

"We just celebrated two years. Come inside, he and his son, David, can't wait to meet you." Gretchen smiled tentatively at Kathryn.

Gretchen led Kathryn and Mike into the house. There were low voices coming from another room. Gretchen announced their arrival and the two men entered the living room from the kitchen area. "Hello, dear. David and I thought we'd make you some lunch." Charles quickly kissed Gretchen then greeted Kathryn and Mike, introducing himself and his son. Both men greeted Kathryn warmly. She instantly liked Charles' warm and friendly manner. Kathryn also noticed that Phoebe and David seemed a little friendlier than was necessary. Phoebe caught her staring and grinned at her in acknowledgement. Ha, she knew it! Phoebe and David were a couple.

"Let's eat and get started on planning that New Year's Eve party. Go wash up dear, your room is still in the same place. David is staying in the guest room, for a few days, so Mike can stay in Phoebe's room… or … with you… if you prefer. I suppose you're old enough to decide for yourself." Gretchen shooed Kathryn and Mike up the stairs. Mike followed her up with an amused grin.

After showing Ayala to the guest room Kathryn unpacked what little she'd brought. Taking out the Doctor's mobile emitter she quickly activated him and had him scan her. She took a small data chip out of her pocket and saved the information onto it. She removed the chip, deactivated the Doctor, and proceeded to delete very specific information from the Doctor's memory; ensuring that the report to Admiral Paris wouldn't include the omitted information. Kathryn safely stored the data chip then sat on her bed to look out at the open Indiana fields behind her childhood home. She sat there for what seemed like forever. She closed her eyes and brought her hand down over her middle. Life had a wicked way of turning on you. She finally stood and went to her personal comm unit and sent out a video message.

VVVVV

Chakotay decided he had had enough wallowing. He forced his heavy limbs to move. Feeling weighed down and stiff he maneuvered himself off of the bed. How long had he been laying there motionless? He hadn't a clue. It was time to start checking on the crew, and making sure everyone was doing alright. He had to; he had to do something. He washed up and was ready to sit down at the comm unit when a message came in. It was an invitation to a New Year's Eve party at the Janeway household. The entire crew and their families were invited. The invitation was promptly followed by a separate video message from Kathryn.

"Hello, Chakotay. I hope you've got yourself settled in. I've been meaning to talk to you about something important for quite some time now. I didn't want to talk about this while we were on duty and it's not something one does over a view screen either; it's personal in nature and I'd like to talk to you face to face. I know you were busy and maybe having dinner with me would have made your personal life… more complicated. I hope to be able to get a few minutes of your time."

In the background of the message Ayala's voice could be heard saying, "Kathryn, your mother asked me to bring you down for lunch now."

Kathryn nodded to someone off screen then continued. "I look forward to seeing you soon; I hope you'll make it to the New Year's Eve party. Janeway out."

Chakotay stared at the screen. He recognized Ayala's voice in the background; Kathryn had taken him home with her. If she wanted to explain her relationship with Ayala to him it would be unnecessary, and painful; it was best left alone. He blinked back his tears, determined to keep himself busy. He started to comm the crew to make sure everyone was okay.

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TBC


	3. Chapter 3

I still don't own anything, and I'm still flat broke, so don't sue me. Getting this one out quickly since IDK if I'll have time again until after the weekend. This Chapter is a bit longer than the other two. Also just a little warning, a little bit of songfic action goes on in this Chapter. Don't shun me please. Enjoy and please review.

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Over Christmas Kathryn got reacquainted with her family. She also took the time to study Charles and David. She was wary of the two men. With one involved with her mother and the other with her sister she felt a little uneasy. Charles seemed friendly, thoughtful, and warm, very father like. David, like Kathryn's own sister, had a wicked sense of humor and loved a good, but harmless, prank. Still there was something suspicious about them. Ayala, however, was a breath of fresh air to her. He was a good sport and while he seemed to be enjoying all the family activity there were times he seemed a bit melancholy. He finally expressed to Kathryn that he missed his family, pretending for the job made the loss a little harder on him since he felt he didn't really belong there. He had learned that his wife remarried and he had no biological family left. He found himself longing for a family like hers. Kathryn let him know she considered herself lucky; she had gone from not having any brothers when she was lost to have two of them upon her return. Mike smiled at her gratefully and she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Gretchen, Kathryn, and Phoebe used the time to catch up with each other. Kathryn missed the girl talk more than she had admitted to herself. Her mother and sister, however, were very astute. They knew something was amiss with Kathryn. She was trying to hide her sadness and failing miserably. They just hoped that the New Year's Eve party would help lift her spirits. Phoebe spent quite a bit of time trying to get her sister to open up to her.

"You need a dress for the party, Katie. I'm taking you shopping."

"I do not. I'll just pick something out of my closet, Pheebs."

Phoebe laughed out loud. "As if you own anything remotely resembling an evening gown. We're going."

After a good show of reluctance, Kathryn finally relented and went off with Phoebe. Kathryn was aware of Mike following them, but he did his job well enough so that Phoebe never noticed. The two girls spent the day criticizing each other's taste in clothing, and Phoebe filled Kathryn in on the latest family drama; which cousins had married, divorced, had children, etc. The camaraderie helped soothe Kathryn's soul a bit. By the end of the day it was almost as if Kathryn hadn't been away from her sister at all; _almost_.

They came home with a new gown each. Both had chosen form fitting long gowns with a slit on one side up to the thigh; Phoebe's emerald green with a sweetheart neckline, Kathryn's navy blue, in satin with a halter top. Once home each found that the dress she had picked for herself fit her sister better, and they promptly traded dresses.

The day of the party Kathryn paced the living room anytime she wasn't busy. She needed to see Chakotay. She hoped he would show up to the New Year's Eve party. Kathryn's mother sensed her anxiety and tried to calm her. "Kathryn it'll be okay. Your crew knows you're human. Now relax and have a good time." Her mother incorrectly assumed her anxiety was because the crew would be seeing her outside of the command structure.

Mike spotted David on the porch and when out to join him.

"I knew someone was coming, but no one told me it'd be you." David was addressing Mike.

"I was surprised to see you here, too. I was especially surprised to find that your dad was married to Gretchen. I have to admit that one was a shock." Mike responded.

"Yeah but he's happy, so it's a good thing."

Kathryn had been heading out to her old tree and walked out onto the porch just in time to catch their exchange. "You two know each other." It sounded like an accusation.

Mike hesitated a moment. "Yes, we do. We've done work together. His dad used to work with us, too. He's retired now."

"We're both assigned to you and your family now." David elaborated. "Having Dad around is like having another agent, but, Dad and I, we're in the private sector now, well Dad's retired but he's still a partner. We left Starfleet and started our own 'security firm'. It gives Starfleet more plausible deniability and gives us more freedom in the manner in which we do our jobs. We don't ask permission to do what's necessary."

"Does Phoebe know she's just your assignment? Because something tells me she thinks you're more than that." Kathryn glared at David.

"She is more than that. I thought long and hard before getting involved with your sister. She knows Dad and I own a security firm. She just doesn't know that our firm has been hired to protect you. Trust me no one has a greater incentive to keep her safe than I do. She's safe with me." He responded.

"I should have told you I knew David, Captain, I'm sorry. I'm still Starfleet, and I wasn't aware they had gone private until David here filled me in." Mike looked absolutely guilty.

Kathryn sighed, "It's alright Mike; just no more secrets, please, and unless you want to blow your cover you need to remember to call me Kathryn."

"Yes Ma'am." Mike grinned.

"So Mike, if you're undercover that means Mike Ayala isn't your real name. Care to tell me who you really are?" Kathryn inquired with her hands on her hips.

"It's best I keep my cover Kathryn, but if you must know I was declared dead while I was with the Maquis. My name was Alfonzo Villalba, but I've been Miguel Ayala for so long that that's all I know how to be." There was an uncomfortable silence and Kathryn reached out and gently squeezed him arm. In an effort to fill the silence Mike started a new subject.

"You should know that David's sister is on the job, too; private sector, like David is now. Well not his biological sister, they sort of adopted each other a few years back. She'll be joining us to help with security; she's been on another mission until now." Kathryn thought about how often she had come across similar situations. Out of adversity and hardship new families formed, even if they didn't share the same DNA.

"We'll have several of our guys out here during the party to making sure everyone is safe; a few from Starfleet security and some more of ours as well." David added.

"How bad is the situation that you feel this is necessary?" Kathryn was concerned, not for herself; she would have gladly sent her security detail off to hover over someone else, but if her family was in danger that was a whole different story.

"Well besides the press, which has gone insane? What do you think the enemies of the federation could do with your new shielding, or the modified torpedoes, the borg technology, the nanoprobes, or Annika Hansen, herself? Don't worry; she's being protected, too." He added the last part as he saw her expression change to one of concern.

"I suppose it's a good thing Chakotay is with her. Will you be letting him know about the threats? I think he'll be happy to work with you to help protect her." Kathryn was careful not to let any emotion bleed into her words. David looked confused.

"Chakotay isn't with her. She left with her aunt. We've got men in place at her aunt's place and as far as I'm aware the only male in the household is an uncle. I'm not in charge of her detail but I did get the general gist of her situation. I'll ask to be sure." Responded David.

"Kathryn," Ayala's voice drifted to her as if from far away, "whatever was going on between them wasn't serious. It couldn't be."

After a moment Kathryn changed the subject.

"All this security; It seems like a lot to undertake. I've never heard of Starfleet doing this much to protect individuals." Kathryn frowned.

"That's because, although there were some, there weren't _many _of these cases before. During the war with the Dominion, some of our scientist and engineers were taken, tortured, and forced to work for the other side before being executed. Starfleet suddenly began to see the sense in protecting their advanced technology and those able to develop, employ, and adapt it." David's face turned somber and his eyes darkened, a look that made Kathryn uneasy. She realized that he had seen far too much during the war. "I'm assuming that Starfleet was happy to grant the Maquis the pardons you asked for even while you were still in the Delta Quadrant, so long as you kept sending those reports with all the technology you'd come across, modified, or developed. And when you finally burst into the Alpha Quadrant with all that future technology that only you, Torres, and Hanson truly understood, I'm sure it became very clear to them that they need you. And while it requires top level clearance to know about it, Starfleet has been concerned about spies and traitors amongst the admiralty for some time now. Of course, at this point the threats we've received have not mentioned any of the technology, only the anti-Maquis sentiment, but the direct threats aren't what is worrisome." Kathryn nodded in understanding. She headed out to her tree to think. Her mind wandered back to how had she come to be in this situation.

_Admiral Janeway had proven herself to be just that, herself, oddly enough she had proven it to herself; her younger self. Now Captain Kathryn Janeway was arguing against going through with the Admirals plan to take Voyager home. The Admiral told her of the twenty-two crew members that were lost, she told her of Tuvok's illness. She told her of Seven's death and how she died in Chakotay's arms. The Admiral told the Captain of how guilt and regret destroyed both she and Chakotay, whom was Seven's husband at the time. She also told Kathryn something she would never have believed had anyone else told her. Chakotay married simply to have someone to be with; to soothe the loneliness. Seven married because it was logical to choose the alpha male as a mate. For both it was a marriage of convenience. Shortly after marrying Seven to Chakotay, Kathryn had come to the realization that her adherence to protocols hadn't been worth all the pain she'd suffered; her heart was broken, she was lonely, life wasn't getting any easier, they were nowhere near home, and she wasn't getting any younger. She had thrown a small but violent fit in her quarters. She began crying and breaking things. She had finally lost the control she had so prided herself in. In the adjacent quarters Chakotay was able to hear the commotion and came rushing into the Captain's quarters to make sure she was okay. He made his way to her through the rubble in her living quarters to find her shaking and crying in a crumpled heap on the floor. He held her and comforted her. She choked out her apologies, admitted that she loved him and had loved him for years; the two ended up in bed together. Soon after, Seven, suspecting that Chakotay was cheating, began her own dalliance with Bronowsky. The three day away mission Kathryn and Chakotay had sent Seven on was with Bronowsky and it was to serve as a way for the Command Team to have some time alone together without any fuss from Seven; a decision that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Kathryn held her head in her hands wanting to, but refusing to cry. Could she really have done that? Could she have caused so much damage to the two people on Voyager she cared about the most? "And one more thing." Kathryn's head snapped up to meet her older self's gaze. What more could there be? "Your plans; you know, Plan Jellybean? It's never going to happen." No! That couldn't be._

VVVVV

Kathryn stood in her mother's backyard. A very large area was covered by an environmental protection field for the purpose of containing the party. It was wonderful to be outside and not have to freeze to death. It was also a way for the security team to quietly scan guests for weapons without anyone realizing it. David and his not-biological-sister, Mirna, were greeting people and generally keeping an eye on arrivals, looking for anyone suspicious. Tom was on a stage erected for the evening playing songs and taking written song requests and dedications. The stage allowed him a good view of the crowd and the temporary dance floor, and no one was surprised to see him providing the entertainment.

The party had been going on for what seemed like hours to Kathryn, when Chakotay finally arrived. Kathryn was dancing with Charles when she spotted him standing by the back porch. He had been standing there watching her dance and admiring how well she wore her dress. She excused herself and went over to greet him. "I'm so glad you came, Chakotay." There was an awkward moment where she wanted to hug him but didn't think she should.

"Well, I encouraged everyone to come and I promised I'd be here. You know some of the Maquis don't have any family left." She nodded, yes, she knew. He was trying hard not to let his gaze fall below her neckline. He didn't want to think about how the way she looked was affecting him.

"We're their family, Chakotay. They will always be family." He smiled at her words.

"I think I'll go make my presence known. Show them I'm here." Chakotay started to move toward the crowd.

"Wait." Kathryn put her hand on his arm. "We need to talk Chakotay. It's really very important."

"Kathryn." Mike interrupted as he rushed around the corner coming from the front of the house. "You need to come with me. We have a possible situation. Excuse us, Commander." He made this statement with a grin, giving the impression that the 'situation' might be something as simple like running out of napkins. He put his hands around her waist and pulled her into the house, away from Chakotay. "A couple of reporters breached the perimeter. I have to keep you out of sight until I'm given an all clear." He whispered as he led her into her father's old study.

The reporters were dealt with and sent on their not-so-merry way, the holoimagers they carried somehow damaged beyond repair. Reporters had taken to hounding the entire crew, and none were too happy with all the publicity, with the exception of the Delaney sisters. Kathryn returned to the party searching for Chakotay. It seemed every time she spotted him he was gone by the time she made her way to his last location. He really was making the rounds. When saw him writing out a song request form and placing it in Tom's song request box, she made her way toward the stage. He was gone again. Tom picked up the paper and readied the song. He noticed there was a dedication at the bottom and he read it out loud.

"This song is from Commander Chakotay to the Swan." Tom stopped and with a chuckle added, "I think most of us remember who that is." Then he continued reading. "I lived through losing you before; it didn't hurt any less the second time around; or the third for that matter. I wonder sometimes if New Earth was a blessing or a curse."

The crowd stilled and an uncomfortable silence filled the air. The entire crew had wondered what had gone on between the command team on that planet. Not wanting the awkward silence to continue Tom quickly made light of the situation, "I guess I don't get to collect those replicator rations anymore." He then cued the song. It was a 20th century County Western song. Tom groaned, some of the saddest music he'd ever heard was Country Western, but a request was a request.

Tom announced the song: "Here's _Which One of Them_ sung by 20th century Country Western Star, Garth Brooks."

The girl at the bar she bought me a beer  
And she'd like to know if I'm new around here  
And the gal that I danced with says she's all alone  
Her friends have all left and she needs a ride home

Oh and there have been others who gave me the eye  
But if they only knew they were wasting their time  
Cause there's only one lover I can give my heart to  
But you didn't want it and you broke it in two

(So tell me) which one of them will be you tonight  
Oh which one will hold me in your arms so tight  
I've forgotten what's wrong, given up on what's right  
(Tell me) which one of them will be you tonight

So I'll just smile and pretend and she'll never know  
Who she's up against when she's holdin' me close  
You're all that I want, girl, you're all that I need  
And when I close my eyes, honey you're all I see

(So tell me) which one of them will be you tonight  
Oh which one will hold me in your arms so tight  
I've forgotten what's wrong, given up on what's right  
(Tell me) which one of them will be you tonight

Kathryn searched for Chakotay as the song played. Listening to the words of the song as she made her way to the corner of the house where she'd seen him last but by the time she arrived he was gone. She continued on to the front only to be told by the guard there that Commander Chakotay had just left in a ground car. She turned back toward the party to find that Ayala was right behind her. She leaned against the side of the house and said, "Does this mean he still loves me?"

"As far as I could tell he never stopped. The thing with Seven was meaningless, he didn't love her." Mike's voice was gentle.

"You knew about him and Seven before I did, didn't you?"

Mike nodded in answer to Kathryn's question. "It's my job to observe and notice details around me. He loves you, there is no doubt about that."

"If that's the case then why has he been avoiding me? I have to talk to him, Lieutenant."

"I know, but it can't be tonight. Let's just get back to the party now, we'll find him tomorrow." Mike had a point. She wouldn't be able to speak to him tonight. She put on a smile she didn't feel and returned to the party. Phoebe noticed her sister's mood change and did her best to lighten up the evening for her. It had taken her along time to develop a good relationship with her sister, when she finally had it Kathryn had been lost. Now Kathryn was home again and Phoebe wasn't going to let her fade away, especially not over a man.

Through the efforts of the party goers, and one Phoebe Janeway, the party quickly returned to normal. The guests all decided to thoroughly enjoying themselves and put the uncomfortable moment behind them. Towards the end of the night Kathryn and Phoebe stood next to each other, the two women looked amazing and had managed to secure the undivided attention of many of the guests. Each of the two sisters had a small plate of appetizers, and each was picking off of each other's plate. The crew had seen Kathryn do the same to Commander Chakotay, but Commander Chakotay had never slapped her hand away, as Phoebe finally decided to do. Kathryn stared at her sister through narrowed eyes, after all Phoebe had been picking at Kathryn's plate too. When Phoebe tried to grab a small cheesecake square from Kathryn's plate Kathryn slapped her back, nobody is sure how, but the situation quickly deteriorated and became a food fight between the two sisters. The crowd, which was composed mostly of the Voyager crew, stood in stunned silence. A few guests who were actually extended family, and had seen scenes much like this one before, chuckled and someone clearly stated, "There they go again, those two will never change. Someone get Gretchen."

There was no need to go get her because only a moment later Gretchen's voice broke through the crowd. "Enough!" The girls were well trained and both immediately stood perfectly still in front of their mother, staring straight ahead. "What would your father say if he could see the two of you! Go get yourselves cleaned up, you two are on kitchen duty for the next two weeks."

"Yes, ma'am." They both managed to answer.

"And don't call me ma'am!" scolded Gretchen.

"Yes, Mother." They corrected themselves. The girls ran into the house giggling. Gretchen smiled.

"It's good to finally have her home." Gretchen's smiled. Now she knew her daughter was back. The comment, however, surprised the crew. It seems their straight-laced Captain had a playful side and they'd only just glimpsed little bits of it in their seven years on Voyager. Ah, yes, the first few years she did show a bit of her playful side, but it had been so long they'd just about forgotten.

That night Kathryn lay exhausted and awake, with images of New Earth in her head.

_ She resisted; for a while. A few weeks into their stay on New Earth, a plasma storm decimated they're chances at ever leaving the planet and Chakotay made up a cheesy legend about an angry warrior. It was a sweet little story; a thinly veiled attempt at telling her he loved her. At first she tried to set parameters, but a few days later she found herself giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before bed, not too many days after that it was a peck on the lips, soon after it was a real goodnight kiss. Three weeks after the angry warrior story she found herself in his bed. For five weeks they were lovers. Then they were suddenly pulled back into the old command structure. She insisted she couldn't have a relationship with him until she got the crew home. This made her need to get them home grow more desperate as time went by, and soon she was an obsessed mad woman. She lost sight of herself. She felt she needed to get home if she was ever going to have what she really wanted; what was promised to her on New Earth._


	4. Chapter 4

They still aren't mine. I still make no money. I write for my own amusement and the amusement of others. Please enjoy, read, and review. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks.

* * *

No one was quite sure where Chakotay went after that night. Kathryn tried to send him another video message but she never received a response. She went to his Starfleet temporary housing, Ayala accompanied her as he always did, but Chakotay wasn't there, or if he was he didn't answer. Debriefings were not all held together and while she saw a few of the crew during those weeks it wasn't that surprising not to run into him there. On the day that she and the senior officers were briefed together Chakotay was notably absent. She asked Admiral Paris about it.

"I show that he's already been debriefed and sent out on an assignment." Admiral Paris scanned his computer for more information.

"On assignment? I thought we were all getting a six month leave with an option to extend for a year." This wasn't what Kathryn expected.

"That's strange I can't access his assignment. Maybe there's some kind of glitch in the system. If I get any news I can share you can be sure I will pass it along to you." Owen promised.

Kathryn anxiously waited for him in vain at the Voyager homecoming ball. He also missed the media engagements and interviews, the various public appearances set up for Starfleet PR. Chakotay even skipped the 'mandatory' psychological appointments. Several weeks later Admiral Paris called Kathryn to tell her that there wasn't any information he could give her. She noticed he never said there wasn't any information, just that there wasn't any he could share. What he could do, he said, was forward any messages for him to a comm address where Chakotay would be able to retrieve them if and when his assignment allowed.

VVVVV

Kathryn confided in her sister about what had transpired with Chakotay. The relationship between sisters grew stronger than it had ever been, with them sharing late night talking session in Kathryn's room that often included ice cream chocolate and coffee. In the beginning these sessions had a lot of sadness and a bit of laughter, but before long Phoebe's efforts ensured that there was much more laughter and happy tears than sad ones.

During the time Mike Ayala spent his time guarding Kathryn and both spent time getting to know Mirna. Mirna had deep dark eyes Mike was drawn to. She was confident and capable in her work but somewhat reserved when it came to personal matters. Kathryn and Phoebe worked at drawing her out and befriending her. Phoebe accepted Mirna as David's sister and the three women often spent time together.

One day Gretchen cornered Ayala in the kitchen. "Michael, what is going on? I was told that you and my daughter were in a relationship. When you arrive you treat each other like acquaintances, then when it seems you two are becoming closer you start showing an interest in David's coworker Mirna. You want to explain this to me?"

Mike looked around nervously, he had to come up with a good answer that Kathryn would be willing to go along with. "Well, Mrs. Janeway, uh… well. Ok, it's like this. I have no family left to speak of and consequently had no home to go to. Kathryn was going to be assigned a security officer, you know, because of the intense media and all, and since I was security…" The look on Gretchen's face told him she wasn't buying it. "Really, Gretchen I'm here for her protection, but it wasn't something that anyone wanted to become common knowledge. I really have no family to reunite with and I served as Kathryn's personal security sometimes on Voyager. You know how she hates to be hovered over and watched. She would have hated having a stranger." All of what Mike said was true and he hoped Gretchen would be satisfied.

"Ok, I just don't see why you two had to lie to _us._We're her family." Gretchen scolded.

"Oh it wasn't our idea. You were given the cover story even before we knew there was a cover story to give." He explained.

"So you and Katie have never…?"

"No. Absolutely not." Mike stated adamantly.

"I didn't think so." She responded thoughtfully. "It seems to me that dedication from Mr. Chakotay really hurt her. I can only assume that he's the reason my Katie has been so sad."

Ayala wisely chose to keep from commenting and he excused himself as he was due to join Kathryn for a walk.

Kathryn remained in constant contact with several of her crew. She would visit Tom and B'Elanna, once a week for the first few months. Tom left covert ops opting for a less dangerous position that would allow plenty of time with his wife and new daughter. Before too long, however, Kathryn's visits became comm calls and by the time her birthday rolled around it had been weeks since anyone had seen her in person.

In May Gretchen, Phoebe, and Charles were preparing to host a party for Kathryn's birthday. It was going to be a grand event. They were inviting the crew and their families. There would even be games and prizes. Gretchen and Phoebe had made it a point to ask Owen to deliver an invitation to Commander Chakotay. Gretchen had long since come to the conclusion that Kathryn was in love with the Commander, and the New Year's Eve incident proved that he was in love with Kathryn as well.

Party guests began arriving early in the day as Gretchen had a lovely lunch planned before the festivities. The guests were greeted by an obviously pregnant Kathryn Janeway. Most tried to disguise their shock, as during her comm calls she never allowed them to see her growing belly. However when the Paris' showed up Tom quirked up an eyebrow and said. "Congratulations, Captain, I see you've kept yourself _busy_. The Alpha Quadrant has done you some good." He wore a wicked smile on his face that was quickly replaced by a grimace when B'Elanna elbowed him in the ribs.

"Happy birthday, Captain, and congratulations." B'Elanna hugged Kathryn as she spoke.

"Hey what's the Doctor doing here I heard he was at Starfleet Medical Research." Tom asked with surprise after spotting the Doctor.

"No _he _isn't; but a copy of him is." Kathryn grinned. "It seems his mobile emitter was misplaced when Voyager was being unloaded. So you haven't seen it, or the doctor, understood Mr. Paris?"

"You busted him out of Starfleet Medical?!" Tom asked incredulously.

"No, he never made it there. I may have to give him back at some point."

"And I'm the one with the bad boy reputation." Tom joked.

Ayala was checking the security imagers and weapons detectors throughout the property when he met Mirna on the porch. "Hi." She smiled at him. They had begun dating and their relationship was really starting to take off.

"Hi, you're a little early."

"I wanted to check the scattering field, and… I wanted a few moments alone with you before things get too out of control." She smiled at him and moved forward to embrace him.

As Ayala leaned in to kiss her he became aware of a ground car coming to a stop on the road in front of the Janeway home.

Chakotay, had taken a month of the leave due to him after completing one mission. He had kept himself out of sight during the two weeks he'd been back. He decided he was ready to put the past behind him and accept the invitation to Kathryn's birthday party. He'd gone on a couple of dates with yet another blond and decided to take her to the party. He hadn't expected what he'd witnessed when he arrived. As he exited his hover car and moved to open his date's door he caught sight of Mike Ayala sharing an intimate but brief kiss with a dark-haired woman.

Ayala looked up to see Chakotay with a blond on his arm. He caught a look of surprise, then anger on Chakotay's face. _Good_ thought Ayala, smiling to himself, _he still cares enough to want to protect her_. Ayala hurried off to the backyard to join Kathryn. For a moment, after Ayala had left, Chakotay thought that maybe Kathryn was a free woman now and he felt his heart fill briefly with hope, but he remembered his affair with Seven, not to mention the new blonde on his arm, and he had to quash that hope.

The former senior officers and their dates sat at the table with Kathryn, Mike, Phoebe, and David for lunch. Chakotay sat as far away as he could; he believed the occupants of that table had not yet seen him. He didn't realize that Ayala was well aware of all his movements. He would have to go say hello at some point, but he didn't have to sit with them. Mike Ayala was sitting comfortably beside Kathryn, occasionally touching her or standing protectively beside her, or bringing her drinks and catering to her. He seemed to dote on her and Chakotay felt his anger bubble inside him. He didn't like the thought that Mike was cheating on Kathryn. It wasn't his business anymore, it really never had been, he kept telling himself. He still felt like punching Mike.

At the table the former crewmates exchanged small talk and shared what they were doing with their leave and what their plans were once it was over. Harry had started dating Libby again, and he spent a lot of time catching up with her and his parents. Tuvok was well again and was back on Vulcan writing his memoirs, and spending time with his grandchildren after having retired. Seven was living with her aunt and learning more about her family but would be going to Jupiter Station to fill a scientific research and development slot. Tom was rebuilding his relationship with Owen and would be working on shuttle design and testing; B'Elanna was getting to know her in-laws and would be working on research, design and shuttle building. B'Elanna would be Tom's boss. Tom and B'Elanna were staying with Admiral Paris. The Doctor, disguised as a bajoran monk, was visiting opera houses and museums, but he was technically staying with Kathryn, as was Mike.

It was B'Elanna who finally addressed the elephant in the room, or the backyard as it was. "So Captain, how far along are you?"

Kathryn smiled and answered, "Going on six months or so." She purposely kept it a little vague.

"Actually," the doctor chimed in, "She is six months and one week." Kathryn, who had stopped deleting information from his memory once she began showing, grimaced at his words. Never had she been more relieved that she had decided not to return the Doctor's deleted memories.

"Thank you, Doctor." Kathryn answered sounding somewhat irritated.

"So, this child was conceived aboard, Voyager. Voyager arrived in the Alpha Quadrant only five months ago." Concluded Seven.

The senior staff looked back and forth between Ayala and the Captain and suddenly began to feel very uncomfortable. Had they been having an affair onboard Voyager? How was it that nobody knew?

"She is forward isn't she? Why does it matter to you where conception occurred?" Phoebe remarked. Knowing how much Chakotay's relationship with Seven had hurt Kathryn Phoebe's protective side came up full force. She felt a good amount of animosity toward Seven and she made no attempt to hide it. Kathryn shot her a look that asked for silence.

"No Seven, I assure you that my children were not conceived aboard Voyager." Kathryn was undeniably more irritated now.

"Children? There's more than one in there?" Came B'Elanna's reaction.

Tom chuckled, "The Captain doesn't know how to do anything halfway, remember?"

"We were clearly still in the Delta quadrant at that time, so that means your children must have been conceived while on Voyager or if it was while you were away from the ship then conception would have occurred on shore leave or during an away mission. I do not recall you taking shore leave, or participating in an away mission, with Mister Ayala during that time, yet he is the one you are cohabitating with." Seven stated coldly. "Has he accepted another man's child as his own?"

"Wow! The girl has no filter. Why are you concerned with the paternity? What do you care?" Phoebe growled and Seven glared back.

"No, I guess we didn't take any shore leave that overlapped at that time." Kathryn spoke in a tone that everyone at the table understood to mean that the matter was closed; everyone but Seven.

"They are not Mister Ayala's children." Seven concluded. "You were close with the Commander… but they cannot be Commander Chakotay's children. They must be the result of a liaison with an alien. The Talaxian colony we passed around that time, perhaps?" Tom spit out a mouthful of water and choked and sputtered while a stunned B'Elanna absent mindedly patted his back. Did she really accuse the Captain of having an affair with a Talaxian?

"Good God! Is she like this with everyone, or does she especially dislike you, Sis?" Phoebe couldn't believe Kathryn would put up with this.

Kathryn placed a hand on Phoebe's arm to quiet her, but Seven had riled Kathryn's feathers and Kathryn let jealousy dictate her response. "_What _makes you think that my children cannot be Commander Chakotay's?" She challenged Seven, staring at her through narrowed eyes. The statement brought wide eyed amazement from the others at the table.

"Yes! Go Captain and Commander. Damn, it took you two long enough!" Tom commented gleefully but was ignored in favor of the drama unfolding.

It was Seven's turn to feel uncomfortable, she wasn't supposed to let anyone know about her relationship with Chakotay, even though she suspected that Kathryn had found out. Chakotay had been clear about keeping it a secret, but now Seven needed to explain how she came to that conclusion. "I… When I first decided to pursue the Commander, I knew then that I wanted to… progress my dating skills with him; with the real Chakotay not just the hologram I had programed of him." At this point, Chakotay, who had finally decided to say hello and wish Kathryn a happy birthday, walked up unseen by Seven, but in clear view of Mike, Kathryn, Phoebe, and David. Seven continued speaking. "I knew that he did not take contraceptive boosters due to his spiritual beliefs. If he were to engage in a romantic liaison which produced a child I would no longer have the opportunity to… _develop_ my relationship skills with him. As he had not yet noticed my attempts to acquire his romantic intentions I gave him a six month contraceptive booster without his knowledge, to give myself more time to attempt to… convince him to help me gain experience in dating. I thought it entirely likely that another woman on the ship would try to fulfill his wish of having a child in order to secure a position as the alpha male's mate. I also felt it was illogical for him to refuse the boosters based on spiritual beliefs which have no basis in reality."

The table went completely silent as every occupant gaped at her. Even Phoebe and Tom were shocked into silence. It took a few minutes for Kathryn to break the stunned silence. She quietly hissed, "What you did is a crime. You had no right to medicate him against his wishes. You could be charged for that." Kathryn was so angry she could slap Seven. She had to take a breath and count to ten inwardly to calm herself. Chakotay stood behind Seven too stunned to speak. She was talking about him. She, Seven, had medicated him without his knowledge or consent! And if that wasn't shock enough Kathryn looked pregnant! Not only had he been violated by Seven, by way of hologram and unwanted medication, but Kathryn and Mike were starting a family and he was jealous.

"I understand now that it was wrong. At the time I did not. You are upset, Captain. I am sorry if I have caused you distress, especially if you believed the Commander was the one who impregnated you, as he clearly was not. You should look to others with whom you had intimate relations." Seven abruptly stood and turned to find herself face to face with Chakotay.

"You did _what_ to me Seven?" Chakotay demanded.

Seven startled a bit at the sight of Chakotay but quickly regained her composure. "I am sorry for what I did; however, it is illogical for you to be angry as you would not have become aware of my actions if we hadn't been discussing why you could not have impregnated the captain while we were in the Delta quadrant; it is unclear who did. The fetus is six months one week in gestation. Now if you'll excuse me I think I should go." Kathryn's anger flared even higher. Seven wasn't as naïve as she made herself out to be and the Captain was sure that she had purposely and vindictively told Chakotay that Kathryn became pregnant before their return and purposely told him that the father was unknown.

Chakotay watched Seven go. As the shock began to wear off he turned back to Kathryn. "I guess congratulations are in order for you and Lieutenant Ayala." He had heard and understood what Seven had said, but he chose to assume the child was Ayala's as he was the one living with Kathryn and he could never think of Kathryn as a… no. But then again she had refused his love citing protocol and the need for parameters, and it seemed those things didn't matter as she was with someone else.

Kathryn looked stunned for a moment. Upon recovering she quickly introduced herself to Chakotay's date. Nancy. She hated her name, her blond hair, her pointy nose, her wide set green eyes, her big forehead and everything else she saw of the woman. Kathryn wasn't the only one; Gretchen eyed Chakotay and his date from inside, obscured from view by the screen door. She thought, _How dare he flaunt a blonde tramp, here in Kathryn's home, when my Katie is obviously pregnant with his children_? Kathryn hadn't told her mother whose children they were but, when Gretchen questioned her about her love for Chakotay and his being the father, Kathryn had not denied it.

Kathryn Janeway donned her Captain's mask and smiled politely. The rest of the table followed suit and greeted the blonde. As he turned to walk away Phoebe nudged Kathryn, she wanted Kathryn to go after Chakotay.

"Now's not a good time Pheebs. I'll see if I can ask him to have coffee with me, but I can't run after him right now. " She tried to work her way to him, while working the crowd, in order to try to make plans to join him for coffee sometime in the week. When she finally did he grabbed his date by the waist and pulled her close saying, "I'm sorry but we're busy all week." A short time later he left the party still upset and jealous.

* * *

_Kathryn ran the program she'd written specifically for this purpose. Once the memory chip was in everything would be recorded onto the memory chip and nothing would be saved on Voyager's computer and she would delete the Doctor's memory.__That way he would have the relevant memories if and only if the chip was in place. _

_"__Computer, activate EMH."_

_"__Please state the nature of the medical emergency."_

_"__Doctor I need you to confirm something for me.__Will you scan me please?"_

_The Doctor grabbed his tricorder and began scanning.__ "__You came to me willingly.__This is a first." Then after a few moments he continued.__ "__I see.__You are pregnant, Captain.__That_**is**_what you wished for me to confirm, is it not?"_

_"__Yes, Doctor, it is. How can this be? I was on contraceptive boosters; you updated them before you left us on the planet." She queried, trying to understand why this was happening to her._

_"__Did you use any medications while on the planet, anything at all?" He pressed._

_"__No, I don't think so.__Oh no!" She exclaimed suddenly remembering. __ " __I had a small cut on my ankle that I didn't treat for a couple of days.__Chakotay saw it and said it looked like it had a minor infection.__He gave me something for it, an antibiotic, and healed the cut with the dermal regenerator.__It was so minor it just slipped my mind completely."_

_"__Well, it's not so minor now. You know certain antibiotics counteract birth control boosters."__He stated as he read her scans._

_"__I didn't even think about it at the time. __I suppose you're right, it isn't minor anymore.__I can't have a baby out here." Kathryn said sadly._

_"__We can go over your options, Captain."_

_"__I think I know my options. __Am I too late to have the embryo preserved for implantation at a later date?"__This was the only solution she could see at the moment._

_"__You are almost five weeks along.__You are right at the deadline, a few more days and I wouldn't be willing to attempt the procedure." She nodded her understanding._

_"__Just one thing, with all the issues we've had in this quadrant, I have to ask; can the storage unit have its own power cell so that even if we have to go to back up power the embryo will still be preserved?" She was hopeful that someday she could give this child a life better than she could offer it in the delta quadrant._

_"__Yes, of course, it would have its own independent power; the power cells last for up to ten years.__At which time we can replace it with a new power cell." He smiled smugly and continued.__ "__Once I start the procedure you'll feel a little pain, but it shouldn't be too bad.__The amount of tissue I'll be removing is still smaller than a jellybean.__You need to understand that before you can resume this pregnancy you will need to be given a hormone treatment approximately 24 hours before making the transfer back to your body, the treatment will encourage implantation.__I have to be honest with you, Captain, there is no guarantee that re-implantation will work.__This is a big decision. I encourage you to discuss it with the Commander.__Shall I ask him to come to sickbay?" _

_"__No Doctor.__Just do it.__I know what Commander Chakotay's opinion will be, and I've already made my decision.__I won't change my mind and he won't agree.__No good will come of telling him at this point.__I only hope he forgives me when I'm ready to go forward with it.__I'll have to tell him then." Kathryn knew that telling him now would not only ruin their personal relationship, but their professional one as well; she couldn't have that, she depended on Chakotay too much._

_"__I have to tell you that I disagree; I think he should be informed."_

_"__I said, NO, Doctor!" Kathryn snapped._

_Properly chastised the doctor relented. "Very well, I'll begin the procedure."_


	5. Chapter 5

They still aren't mine. I still make no money. I write for my own amusement and the amusement of others. Please enjoy, read, and review. I love to hear from readers. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks.

* * *

Kathryn went to her personal com unit in her room to try to reach Seven and offer an apology for her reaction. It wasn't like Seven understood what she was doing wrong at the time. Kathryn's habit of defending the former borg resurfaced. _After all_, she thought, _Chakotay will probably think that what I did was worse than what Seven did._ Kathryn sighed; the longer Chakotay went without knowing the truth the harder it would be, for everyone involved. She left her a message with her apology and an offer to talk about what had happened. Seven, after all, was still learning about human interactions. She and Seven would eventually talk and mend their tense relationship. Through this experience Seven would learn more about Kathryn then Kathryn had ever intended. It would, eventually, bring the two closer then ever.

The rest of Kathryn's day was spent in the company of her crew and avoiding the topic of her pregnancy, and she was grateful for the distraction. She was able to force Chakotay out of her mind. Lately he was often on her mind but days were always easier than nights. Today she would talk, laugh, and be herself with her family and crew. They were all happy to see her relaxing for a change. They themselves knew how much it was needed after their impossible journey. Many of them would be returning to duty after their six month leave, but a few, like Kathryn had chosen to extend the time to a year. Samantha Wildman had taken the whole year to help Naomi adjust. Ensign Harper, like Kathryn, was expecting and had decided to take the year off as well. A few others had taken the extra time to get reacquainted with family, but all would stay in touch; all except for Chakotay.

Chakotay had managed to disappear again, and again, no one knew where to find him.

One Saturday morning, many weeks after Kathryn's birthday party, Phoebe showed up bright and early. "Get up Katie." Lazily opening one eye to see the blurry figure of her sister standing in the center of the room Kathryn groaned. Phoebe was unmoved. Standing with her hands on her hips and giving her a classic Janeway glare she ordered Kathryn up. "Kathryn, get up, now! I'm taking you out for breakfast then we're going shopping for those babies. Honestly, I don't know what you're thinking, you're entering your eighth month and you haven't done a thing to prepare for them."

"I still have time, I'll get to it." Kathryn remarked gruffly.

Phoebe sighed. "I know you wanted to tell him, and I know you were hoping you two would do this together, but let's face it sis, you've got to start doing this now. Lucky for you, you're not on your own. You have a wonderful sister who loves you; you really should appreciate her more." Phoebe teased.

"I've made plans." Kathryn defended herself, "Mike is moving into the old Erikson place down the road today so the babies will get your old room, for now, and when they get a bit bigger they'll take the guest room as well." Kathryn rolled over in bed and turned her back on Phoebe.

"Uh-uh. No you don't. No moping around Kathryn, you are going to get up and go look at baby furniture and start planning that nursery. We are going to make a list of basic necessities we need to buy during breakfast and we are going to start buying those things _today_! "Her tone softened. "Come on Katie, I'm getting worried, you've never been one to procrastinate quite like this."

Kathryn sat up in bed and looked sadly at her sister. She knew Phoebe was remembering Kathryn's depression of long ago, when their father had been lost. "I'm sorry Phoebe. I really _had_ hoped that he would do this with me, if not for me for the babies. Instead I have no idea where he's gone and he has no idea what's happening. Actually, no, that's not true. He knows I'm pregnant, he just thinks I'm having some Talaxian's fur ball offspring. UGH!"

"Well it's no use speculating on that now, Katie. You'll talk to him when you can. Or send him a message. Owen said he'll get them eventually." Phoebe had argued with Kathryn about this and knew she wouldn't go for it but suggested it again anyway.

"No Pheebs, I have to tell him in person. If I send him a message I'll drive myself crazy wondering if he hasn't gotten it or has decided not to be involved, or not to ever speak to me again. I need to tell him in person, that way I know one way or another what he decides, and I need the chance to explain my choice. If I don't know how he reacted I'll be a basket case."

"So what else is new? You're a basket case now. I still think that's ridiculous, it's not like you're speaking to each other now!" Phoebe admonished. "Okay, forget I said anything. Come on Kathryn; let's go get some baby furniture. I say we get a rocking chair, some dressers, a whole lot of diapers, and we have to get some cute little outfits and lots of cute, little, tiny, baby socks."

Kathryn groaned, "Does it have to be today Phoebe?"

"Katie, the Doctor said multiples tend to be born early. We need to get started right away."

"Oh, alright. Let's do it."

"Yes." Phoebe practically cheered when Kathryn gave in.

Ayala was busy moving his things out and had been in and out of the house since very early that morning. Kathryn let him know that Phoebe was taking her shopping. Phoebe informed him that it was a girl's day; they needed to talk. He remarked, "You won't even know I'm there."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and said, "Really, Mike, nothing has happened yet. We haven't even seen any reporters in at least three weeks. You can let her go shopping with me, she'll be okay; I don't usually do permanent damage. Besides we_would_ know you were there, that's why we want to go alone." Kathryn listened quietly giving Mike a knowing look.

"It's alright you two can go on, but I know Mirna would love to go." He said then leaning in to kiss Kathryn on the cheek he whispered. "You really won't know that I'm there."

Kathryn nodded in understanding; he would be following them.

After a good breakfast and a healthy talk with Phoebe, Kathryn was feeling much better about preparing for the arrival of her babies, and after a few minutes at a baby store she was downright excited about fixing the nursery. They had picked out and purchased a rocking chair, a changing table, a set of dressers, and several outfits, all to be transported directly to her home later that day. She had decided which crib style she liked, and ordered three of them. Three!

Kathryn still couldn't believe that she was expecting triplets. The Doctor hadn't mentioned this bit of information when he preserved the embryos, he hadn't mentioned it when he re-implanted them either; he finally mentioned it two weeks after re-implantation, once he was sure all three had steady heartbeats. It had been a huge shock to Kathryn and she was overwhelmed with the thought of being responsible for three infants. At that point she considered her options again. She couldn't bring herself to terminate what she already considered a life. She knew she couldn't expect an embryo to survive preservation and re-implantation twice, which would be required in order to donate one of the embryos. In the end she felt the only thing she could do was go ahead with the pregnancy as it was, and deal with being the mother of three when the time came.

Kathryn was browsing through a catalog of triple strollers with Mirna when she heard Phoebe shouting at her, "Oh my goodness, Katie, you have to see these cute lamps for the babies' nightstands! They are adorable."

"Phoebe, I thought we were just getting the basics! Besides lamps are unnecessary we have lights, remember?" She laughed at her sister's enthusiasm and waddled her way over to her, Mirna stayed behind to flip through a few more pages of the catalogue. A stroller would make a nice gift for Kathryn.

Phoebe and Kathryn were alone in that particular corner of the store; Kathryn was right, there really wasn't much use for baby lamps other than as a decorative item.

A man appeared from around the corner of the aisle. At first he just browsed the items on the shelf as he wandered closer to them. Kathryn's inner red alert went off, but before she could communicate anything to her sister he rushed forward and knocked Phoebe on the back of the head with a phaser, dropping her. After phaser-whipping Phoebe he grabbed for Kathryn, she tried to twist away, but he got a good hold of her arm. She twisted back shoving the base of her palm up into his nose; surprising him. He grabbed for her other arm. She struggled with him, twisting and elbowing him in the ribs, struggling with all her might. He finally gave up on her other arm and grabbed her by the hair. Mirna came up behind him and jumped on him. The man released Kathryn in a moment of surprise. He quickly gathered his wits again and backed up hard into a row of shelves dropping Mirna before turning and stunning her with the phaser. He rushed forward for Kathryn again, and caught her easily, as she was in no condition to run and would never have left her sister anyway. She kicked at his shins and knees in order to get loose, ignoring the sharp pain that spread quickly across her abdomen. He yanked her, violently twisting her arm back and rotating it; her arm popped and she realized it was dislocated just as she noticed that he was now holding her from behind. Kathryn struggled against his hold despite the pain and her useless arm. She stopped struggling when he put the phaser to her head.

"Tank to Buccaneer, two to beam up." _Tank _called into his communicator then paused then tried again. "Tank to Buccaneer, two to beam up… come in."

Kathryn saw a fuzzy figure rushing toward them, from its shape and build she figured, with relief, that it must be David. From somewhere a few feet behind her came a deep, dark, dangerous voice she recognized as Ayala's, only she had never heard it sound quite so menacing. "They won't hear you; we've got their signal scrambled. If you so much as take a breath there will be a big empty hole where your tiny, little brain used to be, _Tank_. I suggest you let the lady go."

In front of Kathryn, David walked up and pointed his own phaser at Tank's forehead. Tank released Kathryn and the two men disarmed him. Kathryn turned to find David and Ayala frisking the attacker; when they were satisfied Tank and David disappeared in the familiar shimmering light of a transporter beam. By this time Phoebe had started to get up. She was staring at Mike in disbelief. "Who the hell was that, and what did he want with Kathryn?"

"Let's get out of here first, Phoebe, we need to get Mirna to the Doctor. Kathryn are you alright?" Mike was suddenly worried after taking a look at the expression on her face.

"No, Mike, I don't think I am. I need the doctor." She abruptly doubled over in pain.

"Bobcat to Knox, we need immediate transport to nest. Four to beam out." Ayala called into his own communicator.

They materialized on the transport pad in Edward Janeway's old office. Phoebe helped Kathryn onto the couch while Mike carried the still stunned Mirna in.

"Kathryn where is the Doctor?" Mike asked.

"His mobile emitter is on the desk in my room, he deactivated himself. He hasn't been going out lately; he says I'm too close now for him to leave me." Kathryn strained to answer

"Smart man, I'll go get him." Phoebe tossed over her shoulder as she was already running up the stairs to retrieve the Doctor.

A few minutes later they were in the hospital at the Doctor's insistence. Mirna would be fine as would Phoebe, just a concussion and a bump on the head, both things he would fix without a problem, but Kathryn needed to be treated at a hospital. He refused to elaborate but they all knew it had to be serious by the Doctor's conduct. Phoebe immediately contacted her mother, who was spending some time with Charles in Florida, and asked her to come quickly.

David arrived at the hospital and Ayala pulled him aside. "So what the story on this Tank guy?"

"Small band of thieves and smugglers; Tank decided they should branch out into kidnapping for ransom and thought that Starfleet's Golden Girl would be a profitable target. The crazy thing is that it was an unplanned attack. He recognized the Captain when he went into the baby store for a present for his pregnant sister."

"Well that would explain why we didn't have any intel on this guy."

" Yeah, chatter's been real quiet lately. After today I think it's best stay close."

" Any movement on Hansen and Torres?" Mike asked.

"No all's been quiet there, but today proves you can't be too careful. Details on Torres and Hansen drop in a year if all stays quiet." David had been staying informed on the threats against all three women.

"What about the Captain?" Mike's concern was evident.

David promptly answered, "I think she'll have a detail assigned to her for life, due to her other connections. Just don't tell her."

"Of course not; she'd hate that."

The men broke their conversation when they saw Phoebe come toward them. Just as she reached to two the doctor came out. He wasn't the primary physician treating Kathryn but he had been allowed to be the one to keep the family updated.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news."


	6. Chapter 6

VVVVV

Chakotay beamed onto his ship exhausted. He had been on loan to the Ranger's for six months now and he was starting to think he was just too old for this crap. He was making deals and exchanging, supposedly stolen, technology that had bugs and viruses installed. The idea was that Starfleet would be able to get enough information back from the infected spyware to discover any treasonous Starfleet personnel. The irony of being chosen for this job was not lost on him. It wasn't like he'd been forced to take this position; when the idea was presented to him it seemed like a good opportunity to put some distance between himself and Kathryn's romance with Ayala.

It was dangerous work and there had been times he'd been hunted down by local authorities and even unknowing Starfleet officers. After all, while he was making the trades everyone had to believe he was just another criminal. Only the Rangers assigned to the small ship he was on knew different. He walked into his quarters ready for a shower and a long sleep. His comm was blinking with an incoming message; the messages from the old crew sometimes contained information on Kathryn, and even though he hated himself for it, he eagerly sat down to listen.

Chakotay stared at the screen. Tom and B'Elanna had sent him this message weeks ago, but communications links were only established once a month and only when the Captain deemed it safe to do so; they couldn't risk being discovered. Once the messages were downloaded they had to be decrypted. With a month's worth of messages, and missions that often required the undivided attention of all hands, messages commonly arrived many weeks after they had originally been sent. He listened to the message, then replayed it just to be sure he'd heard it correctly. Of the entire eight minute message updating him on their lives, on Miral, on the happenings of the crew, and various other matters the only part that seemed to register was Tom's voice saying "… I thought it would be best if you hear this from us now, rather than hear any rumors… um, the Captain was injured in some sort of accident, while at a baby store no less. They tell us she's ok but her babies had to be delivered early. We're not sure what happened, no one has given out any details." After that not a single word of the message registered in Chakotay's brain, and the parts of the message that had come before had already been forgotten.

Chakotay didn't know how to handle the news. He hoped Kathryn and her babies were okay. He had taken this assignment away from it all to try to get over Kathryn Janeway, yet he had impatiently waited for every scrap of news about her that came in. He wasn't over her now any more than he was the day of her birthday party. He wanted to rush to her side but wouldn't, couldn't, not if he wanted to move on. He would stay away from her and focus on his work; after all they did say she was ok.

VVVVV

**Four Years Later**

Admiral Kathryn Janeway was returning from a diplomatic mission on the outskirts of Federation space. She was to assist two neighboring civilizations which were having difficulties in arriving to a peaceful resolution regarding space boundaries; each wanting more control of the area than the other. She had finally helped them draw lines neither side was happy with but both grudgingly agreed to. Now the Admiral was on her way to rendezvous with the _Titan. _From the time she hit open space she was being followed by two shuttles. She was working hard to shake them and after a half hour, and some maneuvers Tom Paris would be proud of, she was rid of her unwelcome escort. Kathryn could have sworn she heard the young Ensign next to her praying for his life during the process. She stifled a laugh when she saw him looking space sick.

"Admiral, don't you think the security team is going to be upset at you for losing them again?" Asked the young Ensign Atherton.

Admiral Janeway sighed and exchanged a look with her 'aide', Commander Ayala, "I'm sure they will Ensign, just like they'll be upset that I didn't let them fly the shuttle for me, or hold my hand while I climbed the steps at the embassy, or taste my food before I ate it. I can cut my own meat and fly my own shuttle, Ensign. That's the whole reason I come out on these diplomatic missions. I miss space, and I won't let them suck all the joy out of the few occasions I get to be out here."

"Yes ma'am, but you just closed the hatch in their faces and flew away. Couldn't you just order them to let you fly the shuttle yourself, instead of making them chase you?"

"Ensign, there were two shuttles following me. Do you know what that means? It means that I would have still been followed by at least one of them, even if I had the security team on board with me, besides Mr. Ayala here used to be one of my security officers on Voyager, I trust him with my life." Ayala smiled and winked at Kathryn. She didn't need an aide, but it was as good a reason as any for Ayala to continue to stay close enough to protect her.

"Oh." The ensign decided that was a good time to stop talking.

When she docked the shuttle on the _Titan _she was met by Will Riker. "Well Admiral, you've certainly made an impression on our security teams." He laughed.

Grabbing hold of his arm she playfully chuckled and said, "Come on Captain, why don't you take a girl to lunch?" Walking out of the shuttle bay she told her old friend, "I'm having a birthday party for my children next month. It'll be at my mother's house. I'll be sending out invitations next week but I thought I'd let you know the date in advance. If you and Deanna are able to take leave we'd love to have you."

"I'm sorry we can't, we'll be leaving on another assignment in two weeks. Are you still living in Indiana with your mother? Maybe we can come by for a visit when we get back."

"Yes, mostly, but I keep an apartment in San Francisco for those days I just can't get home. I try not to let that happen too often. I don't like to be away from my children much."

"How old are the little tykes now?"

"They'll be four years old. When are you and Deanna finally going decide to have a family?"

"Oh I don't know admiral. It's not easy to be space farers and have a family."

"Don't I know it. They are the only reason I took this promotion. I never thought I'd be happy flying a desk, but it's worth it to be home with them as much as I am."

VVVVV

Chakotay sat on Tom Paris' couch eating a pizza and having a beer while an old movie played on Tom's ancient television. He chuckled thinking that some things never changed. B'Elanna eyed him carefully. "So are you really taking a job here on Earth, or are you just toying with my emotions?"

"I'll be teaching at the academy again, this time as a Captain with no ship, rank only. I'm really here to stay B'E."

"That's good, because I've missed you; four years is a long time. I always thought Uncle Chakotay would be Miral's favorite Uncle, but she hardly even knows you. A few weeks over the course of four years just isn't enough." B'Elanna didn't bother to hide her hurt or disappointment.

"I know. I've spent most of my leave with my sister and her family. It's was hard for me to be on Earth. I was originally planning to be with that particular unit for only ten months … but then…" Chakotay trailed off.

"But then you saw that Janeway was pregnant." She surmised. "So what? You couldn't stand to see her starting a family?" B'Elanna's tone was sharp.

"No. I just couldn't stand to see her start a family with someone else." Chakotay admitted.

"It's your own fault! She had to have found about your stupidity with Seven while we were still in the delta quadrant. Otherwise she would have waited for you; we ALL knew she loved you too."

Chakotay looked at her with curiosity. "Did you know about Seven, or was it a surprise when she made her little announcement at the party?"

"I didn't know but I'm sure Kathryn knew, even before Seven _announced_ it at the Captain's birthday party. She didn't look like the news of your relationship with Seven surprised her, but Seven's revelation about medicating you threw her for a loop. She sure was angry about that. Are you sure you two didn't… I mean… her kids kinda look like you."

"I wish, B'Elanna. No, I was avoiding Kathryn those last few weeks. I wouldn't even meet her for any of our usual meals. After Quarra it was hard for me. I know it wasn't her fault, but just the thought of her being with someone else… So when Seven asked me to help her with her dating skills I justified it. Kathryn had Jaffen on Quarra why couldn't I get a little affection to ease my loneliness too." Chakotay explained.

"You're a PetaQ! She had no say in what happened at Quarra!" She softened and said, "You know the Captain made up with Seven? She invites her to all her private parties again. Not that Seven shows up often, that ungrateful borg." B'Elanna did nothing to hide her disgust.

"I've gotten invitations to them all, too." Chakotay pointed out.

"Yes, and you're ungrateful too! But I don't think she's even mad at you. She's just hurt that you disappeared without talking to her or even saying goodbye. I know I was." B'Elanna rebuked.

"B'E, everywhere she went Ayala was at her heals. He moved in with her as soon as we got home, at least that's the impression I got. He wouldn't let her out of his sight at that first New Year's party. I couldn't have talked to her without him listening to every word. I just couldn't, but even if she'd been alone I wasn't ready to talk to her yet. I… I guess I didn't want to hear that she was happy with him. I know she and I were "just friends" but she meant so much more to me back then. With a little luck maybe she'll forgive me too and we can be friends again."

"Well Ayala doesn't live with her anymore, but he's always around, he and his girlfriend. It seems she and Kathryn get along pretty well, it's kinda strange actually." She decided not to mention that Ayala was Kathryn's personal aide, then added, "Come with Tom and me to the kids' birthday party. I'll bet she'll be surprised."

"Nicole and I were planning to go." Chakotay watched for B'Elanna's reaction.

"Another brainless blonde?" B'Elanna snapped.

"Can I help it if blondes ask me out?" Chakotay asked. B'Elanna threw her hands up in exasperation.

"They must be desperate blondes." Tom replied gleefully as he entered the room.

VVVVV

Kathryn Janeway was in her mother's backyard, chatting amicably with a few of the first guests to arrive at her children's party. Will and Deanna had sent their regrets and a gift. Most everyone else had confirmed that they would be attending. Her daughter, Amelia, ran by giggling with her brother Eddie hot on her trail. "Freeze!" Kathryn's voice stopped them cold.

"She keeps teasing me. She says I love Miral and she stuck a picture of Miral on the wall with a heart around it." Whined Eddie.

"So take it down." Said Kathryn.

"But Miral already saw it." Eddie was blushing furiously.

"Hello Admiral." Kathryn turned to see a smirking Tom holding his two year old son Owen, B'Elanna at his side.

"Tom, B'Elanna!" She hugged them warmly. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Are you kidding we wouldn't miss it. Although, I don't know if I like that your son is trying to romance my daughter."

"We Janeways are a catch Mister Paris." She laughed.

Kathryn turned toward her children who quickly came over and greeted Uncle Tommy and Aunt B'Elanna.

"Well they have good manners." B'Elanna smiled at Kathryn. "Better than Miral's, where did that girl go?"

"She's waiting for Eddie in his room, she likes him, too." Amelia said with a smile.

Tom frowned "I'll go get her." Tom disappeared into the house and Kathryn and B'Elanna couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh God, it's all catching up to him now. Every time a boy looks at Miral he's going to remember what _he_ used to be like. He'll be having panic attacks by the time she's twelve." Kathryn couldn't help but find it funny.

Tom returned and Kathryn led him and B'Elanna to a table where Harry and Libby were sitting holding their two year old son Jacob.

"If you'll excuse me while I go and get some more lemonade for everyone." Kathryn excused herself and went inside to help her mother in the kitchen.

"Mom, where's Pheebs?" Kathryn asked upon seeing her mother alone.

"She went to get showered and changed, while Daniel takes his nap. She'll be down again in a few minutes." Phoebe's one year old son, Daniel, was beginning to feel separation anxiety and refused to let his mother out of his sight.

Kathryn snuck up the stairs and slowly opened the door to the bathroom. She whispered just loud enough for the computer to detect her voice, "Computer change water temperature setting to 12° Celsius." She made a run for it and she was halfway down the stairs by the time she heard her sister's screams. She quickly grabbed a tray of drinks from the kitchen and headed out to serve her guests.

Kathryn had just finished passing out the drinks when she heard the screen door slam and her sister scream, "Kathryn Janeway, you are going to get it!" She turned to see her sister standing on the porch with her hair dripping wet. Grateful that her sister took the time to dress she just grinned at her. Then she saw it; in her hand her sister held a pressurized can of whipped cream.

"Don't do it Phoebe. I have guests here, you know." She said as she was backing away from her sister and moving toward an open space away from the tables, chairs, and guests.

"You should have thought of that before for you gave me an ice cold shower." Phoebe snarled while Kathryn's former subordinates grinned in joyous disbelief. They hadn't seen a display like this since the first New Year's Eve party four and a half years prior.

"It's nothing you haven't done to_ me_ before." Kathryn tried to reason with her sister but Phoebe broke into a run towards her. Kathryn shrieked and ran away from Phoebe, until Phoebe was close enough to start spraying whipped cream at her. Kathryn spun around and grabbed for the can, placing her foot behind her sister's she used a quick forward motion to drop Phoebe down onto her back. Wrenching the can of whipped cream from her sister Kathryn quickly had her sister pinned to the ground; sitting on Phoebe's chest with her knees trapping Phoebe's arms against her body. Kathryn sprayed the whipped cream into Phoebe's face. Phoebe screamed.

"Freeze!" Gretchen Janeway's voice, so much like Kathryn's, had an immediate effect on not only the Janeway sisters but every one of the Starfleet personnel within earshot, the crowd grew silent. "What is going on?"

"Kathryn's using her Starfleet training against me again!" Phoebe's cry drew chuckles from the guests.

"You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves, on your feet!" She glared at them. The Janeway sisters quickly got to their feet and stood so stiffly anyone would think they were standing at attention. "You two are worse than the children! Go get cleaned up. Now!"

"Aye, Mother!" Kathryn and Phoebe answered in unison and marched themselves back into the house to get cleaned up.

Tom and B'Elanna weren't sure if they should laugh or not, after all the children were watching and listening.

"Well, now I think I've seen everything." Came a low voice from behind them.

"Chakotay!" B'Elanna had been so captivated by the scene she hadn't seen him approach the table.

"Was that really Kathryn Janeway wrestling in dirt and whipped cream?" He asked in awe, not having witnessed the New Year's Eve incident.

"Yes, it was; but it wasn't much of a wrestling match she had her sister pinned in seconds." Tom laughed at the image of his former Captain spraying her sister with whipped cream.

"I noticed." Chakotay said; astonishment still evident in his voice. "I also noticed the scarier version of Kathryn dressing them down. Wow! If that's her mom, I wonder what her father was like."

The sound of a clearing throat reminded him of his date's existence. "Oh, yes, Nicole this is B'Elanna, Tom, Harry, and Libby." They exchanged pleasantries and Chakotay and Nicole took a seat at the table with the other two couples.

Mike Ayala had spent the morning coordinating security for the party from the home he shared with Mirna, just down the road. David, who was now married to Phoebe, was 'mingling' at the party while watching the perimeter. Mike ordered two of his coworkers to continually scan the party area for weapons; they would be watching the readouts from Mike's house. Once he was satisfied he headed out to enjoy the party, hand in hand with Mirna.

Mike spotted Chakotay at the table with Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry and went over to join them.

Mike gave Chakotay a warm greeting and smiled politely when he introduced Mirna to him and Nicole. Mike, who was very protective of Kathryn, immediately disliked Nicole. Maybe she reminded him of Seven, whom he still disliked; or maybe she just represented the same things Seven had once represented. Either way he wished there was some way he could keep this woman away from Kathryn. The men sat down and began chatting with the other occupants of the table.

The children spotted Mike and ran over screaming happily, "Uncle Mike, Aunt Mirna!"

"Hey sprouts!" He said lovingly as he and Mirna hugged Amelia and Eddie.

"Who are these two? Are these the birthday kids?" Chakotay asked kindly even as he noted how the kids addressed Mike and his girlfriend. He looked at the kids and couldn't help but feel envious of Mike.

"Chakotay, this is Amelia and Eddie, the birthday girl and boy." Ayala introduced the children to Chakotay.

"It's nice to meet you Mister Chakotay." The children said in Unison, as Chakotay cringed; he didn't like it when their mother called him, Mister Chakotay, and coming from them it was even worse.

"You don't need the Mister, just Chakotay is fine."

Amelia looked at him curiously, wondering if she'd get in trouble addressing an adult that way.

Tom chimed in, "Well they call all the former Voyager crew Aunts and Uncles. What do you say kids, how about calling him Uncle Chakotay?"

Amelia's smile reminded him of Kathryn. She had sparkling green eyes and somewhat light skin that appeared to have the slightest touch of a golden tan and her hair was a medium reddish brown. Eddie's eyes were shaped just like Kathryn's, only they were light brown in color. His skin a few shades darker than his sisters, his hair was almost black. Nicole, Chakotay's date, eyed them curiously as if trying to decipher a code.

"Ok, Uncle Chakotay." Little Eddie looked from Tom to Chakotay and asked hopfully, "Will you and Uncle Tommy play ball with us?"

"Of course we will. We'd be honored to play with the birthday boy and girl." Tom said with a grin. "Come on Big Guy, see if you can keep up." Tom was known to play a modified form of ancient football with the kids. He got many of the rules wrong but he captured the spirit of the game and the kids loved it. He quickly taught Chakotay his version of the game and soon the two men and Amelia, Eddie, Miral, and Naomi Wildman were having a grand time. After some time the game deteriorated into tickle football but nobody minded. Once worn out Chakotay sat with Amelia and Eddie to enjoy a glass of lemonade. He found them to be bright, well mannered, inquisitive children, and a whole lot of fun. He longed for children of his own.

"Sorry Chakotay, looks like your date bailed on you. She watched you play with the kids for a little while then took off." B'Elanna didn't sound sorry at all.

"It's alright; I didn't like her much; as I said _she_ asked _me_ out."

Chakotay turned his attention back to the kids. Eddie turned to Chakotay and asked. "Did you know my mom on Voyager, too?"

"Yes, I did. In fact we were good friends once; I'd say I knew your mom very well at one time."

"Could you tell us about her, or…" Eddie looked around nervously then lowered his voice to a whisper, "…could you tell us about our dad? No one will tell us anything; they say they don't know or they tell us to ask mom, and all mom ever says is that our dad is a good man." Chakotay was dumbfounded and remembered Seven's comment years before about no one knowing who their father was.

"I don't know. You really do have to ask your mom. I could tell you some legends if you want a story." The children looked a little disappointed but agreed to hear Chakotay's stories. "Ok, I can tell you about how the once vain and arrogant penguin lost his colorful feathers and his ability to fly, or how the mole lost his sight and had to resign himself to living underground in darkness. Which do you want to hear first?" Sometime during the final story Kathryn came close enough to them to hear. She noticed Chakotay's date was gone and decided to stay close to ask him to speak with her privately. He was overdue for the truth.

At the end of the story the children thanked him with a, "Thank you for the story, Uncle Chakotay."

Kathryn startled them. "He's NOT your Uncle." Chakotay turned to look at her in disbelief; confused by her sharp words. Was she angry at him? She had sent him a few greeting over the years. She had asked him to get in touch with her, sent him invitations to all her parties. He thought she wanted to resume their friendship. Had she been this angry with him all along?

"Kathryn?" B'Elanna wondered what had prompted such a strong reaction.

"He's not their Uncle; I will not have them calling him Uncle!" Kathryn insisted.

"My God, Kathryn." Chakotay shook his head as the anger in him began to boil up once more. "You have them call _every one_ Uncle. You even make them call Mike, Uncle. The whole damn crew is their Aunt and Uncle; everyone but me? If you are so angry at me why invite me, why th_e HELL _send me messages that you want to get together to talk if I'm ever Earthbound." Chakotay couldn't believe it. What right did she have to be mad anyway?

The kids looked at each other for a moment when the voices started getting loud and decided it was safest to go play somewhere else. They ran to the front yard taking Miral with them. They hated it when any adults argued. They were gone before Chakotay had even finished his tirade.

"We do need to talk… alone."

"Why do we need to talk alone, Kathryn? If you don't want me around your children just say so. Here in front of everyone. Say it!" Chakotay was obviously hurt.

"That's not it Chakotay. I think it would be good for the kids to have you around, but we need to talk about this in private." Why did he have to make everything so difficult?

"Kathryn, don't you think you're overreacting?" B'Elanna attempted to reign in the situation.

"B'Elanna, this is between Chakotay and me." Then turning to Chakotay Kathryn took a moment to compose herself and continued. "Let's go inside and talk. I'll explain everything." By this time they were surrounded by Kathryn's entire security detail as well as many guests. The guest were eager to find out what the fuss was and security ready to throw Chakotay out on his ass at a moment's notice. They turned toward the house and Chakotay reluctantly allowed himself to be led toward it by Kathryn, David, and Charles.

Suddenly Naomi Wildman came running around the house screaming, "Amelia's gone! That lady took her. She would have taken Eddie too, but he and Miral put up a fight. I was on the porch sitting on the swing. By the time I got close enough she'd dragged her into a shuttle. It just flew away."

"Shit!" was Mike's initial response, realizing that in their eagerness to protect Kathryn no one had gone after the Children. Rookie mistake, DAMN! "It was that bitch Chakotay brought with him, _Nicole_!" Ayala threw Chakotay a dirty look as he tapped his commbadge. "Bobcat to Knox, Jaybird has been taken. A shuttle just left here a few moments ago."

"Understood Bobcat, coming to your location, we'll beam you on board so you can brief us as we fly." Came the reply.

"I'm going too!" screamed Kathryn, realizing that Mike had a ship at the ready.

"No, Kathryn you can't." Mike replied, but it was too late. Kathryn was holding on to him as the transport began. Grabbing on to them both was Chakotay, knowing that the transporter would take them too if they were all tangled in an embrace. He had caught on even sooner than even Kathryn had. Mike was using code names, Amelia had a code name; Ayala must be part of an elite security detail, one watching Kathryn and her kids. Damn! It was _his_ date that kidnapped Amelia. Damnit! They appeared on the transporter pad of a ship and they quickly stepped off of the platform, and they all followed Mike to what Kathryn presumed would be the briefing room.

Ayala cursed under his breath, he wasn't going to waste time beaming them back, but neither of them should be there.

Kathryn had to keep her emotions from overwhelming her, otherwise she was going to crumble into a hysterically crying lump on the deck, so she did what she knew best; she summoned the "Admiral", and began to give orders. "I want to know all about the shuttle that took her Commander Ayala. Scan the area for a warp trail. Who the hell would want to take my child? Have Mirna stay with Eddie. Check for plasma and ion residue, and distortions too, in case their masking their trail…"

As Kathryn gave orders, she followed Ayala as he obviously knew his way around this ship. They walked onto the bridge and headed for the briefing room. A voice from behind finally cut her off. "Easy Goldenbird, you're not in charge on _this_ mission." Kathryn froze.

"Then who is?" She asked slowly and deliberately as she turned toward the center of the bridge.

Staring at the older man in front of her she asked, "Chakotay, am I dead?"

"I don't think so, not unless I am, too."

"Are we in a time loop?" she continued.

"No déjà vu, so I am going to say no." answered Chakotay.

The man gave Kathryn a curious look.

"Any soul stealing, or sleep inducing, aliens in sight?"

"Not that I can tell. I can see Earth's moon from here and I'm sure I'm awake." Chakotay answered in bewilderment.

"Daddy!" Kathryn ran and threw her arms around her father, and the Admiral's facade was gone. Kathryn cried in her father's arms.


	7. Chapter 7

They still aren't mine. I still make no money. I write for my own amusement and the amusement of others. Please enjoy, read, and review. I love to hear from readers. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks

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Kathryn cried in her father's arms. "They took her, Daddy, someone took my baby girl! How are you here? Why would anyone want Amelia? How is this possible, I watched you die?" Kathryn was reeling.

"Let's focus the matter at hand; let's get your Amelia back."

Kathryn nodded but as they moved toward the conference room she suddenly asked, "What about Justin, is he alive too?"

"I'm right here, sweetheart." She turned to see Justin rounding the corner out of the briefing room. She ran and hugged him on impulse. Chakotay was dumbfounded by the fact that Edward Janeway was alive. How could anyone allow their loved ones to believe they were dead, to suffer and mourn as Kathryn had? Then watching Kathryn in Justin's arms drew another response from Chakotay. Chakotay was suddenly jealous of Justin. Justin had been Kathryn's first fiancé, and he had his arms around her now. The hug was short lived, however. Kathryn came to the conclusion Chakotay had come to just a second before and was suddenly furious, they let her morn, suffer, they left her behind, and they were alive. She pulled away.

She wouldn't worry about them just yet; she just needed her daughter back. "Well, are we rescuing my daughter or not?" Kathryn demanded.

"No, _we_ are not, Katie. My men and I are." Edward responded.

"I won't be staying behind, Janeway. I'm going after her, too." Chakotay's voice was firm and determined and laced with a touch of contempt. Edward eyed him for a moment, this man had been Kathryn's first officer, and if Mike had been honest, Chakotay had heroically saved Kathryn and others countless times. He nodded his acknowledgement; Chakotay would be joining them.

Kathryn was infuriated. "She's my daughter! I need to go, too!"

"And that's exactly why you can't, Goldenbird. As her mother you won't be objective, and I won't lose you, too." Edward explained. Kathryn chose to remain quiet at that point. She knew her father, or she thought she did, and she needed him to allow her to listen in on what was happening; she knew her father wouldn't be swayed.

Justin, Kathryn, Edward, Mike, and Chakotay gathered in the conference room, while Edward's bridge crew attempted to track and follow the ship the shuttle had docked in with Amelia on board. "Where is Mirna?" Asked Edward Janeway.

"I'll find out." Answered Justin then opening a communications link he said, "BlueFox what's your status?"

Mirna's voice answered, "Secured Oriole in nest. Red Tail is attempting to secure Mother Hen and Snowy Owl, but they aren't cooperating." Kathryn looked back and forth between the two.

"Get them all to one location I don't want our people having to split up right now." Edward ordered.

"Unbelievable! You've been watching us all along, manipulating our lives! Did you pick out mom's new husband for her, too, Dad!"

"No. I couldn't watch you while you were in the Delta quadrant now could I. I did pick out your mother's security detail. I didn't know they were going to, well, end up married. But if she was going to remarry then Charles is a good choice, he's a good man and he'll keep her safe." Kathryn was fuming, how could he be so casual about it?

Chakotay was having trouble stomaching the scene. He knew Kathryn was in an emotional upheaval as it was, but now seeing her father adding to it was angering him to the point where he was afraid to speak for fear he might say something he shouldn't. Long forgotten was the argument he was having with her just minutes before, his instinct to protect Kathryn was overriding everything else.

"Good God! So Charles knows who you are, and he knows you're alive!" Kathryn managed to spurt.

"We're getting off topic. Who is this woman and why is she after Amelia? Mike?" Edward steered the conversation back.

"Well, my first reaction was that she wanted to get to Kathryn somehow but I don't believe that now. I think she wants to get to Chakotay. She was only there as Chakotay's date and I believe he stated that she had come on to him. I think she wants something from him, she saw how he took to the kids, and I believe she's going to try to blackmail him, or demand something from him in exchange for Amelia's return. I think he'll find that he'll be getting a message with demands." Mike answered.

"I thought you said I was the one at risk; B'Elanna, Seven, and me." Kathryn's words to Mike surprised Chakotay.

Edward hastily commed ops, "Have all of Commander Chakotay's calls and messages rerouted here, I'm guessing they may require top level clearance, you know what to do."

"Aye, sir." Came a disembodied voice.

It was Chakotay who responded to Kathryn. "So you knew you were in danger? Why didn't you tell me? Damnit, Kathryn! You should have just said what you had to say to me in a recorded message, if you had to. You should have told me you'd been threatened. It was important enough! None of this would have ever happened. If I had known you were in danger I would have stayed by your side, you know that! I could have helped keep you and your kids safe." Chakotay criticized her, frustrated with the fact that harm had come to them by way of him.

Kathryn retorted. "Why would I have even imagined that you might have stayed by my side? I couldn't even get you to talk to me. Not for a single moment. You flat out refused! For almost five years I've been trying to get you to talk to me. If you hadn't been hiding from me I would have told you that Mike was part of a security detail assigned to protect me!"

"I should have come back after the incident at the baby store, but Tom said it was an accident and you were ok. I should have known better; no details released, no one knew exactly what happened. Kathryn Janeway isn't accident prone. I wasn't an accident was it?" Chakotay stood and began to pace.

"You knew about that?"

"Yes. I was told it was just an accident. No one told me there were ongoing threats against you!"

"Enough you two!" Edwards reprimand silenced them. "You're acting like a pair of scorned teenaged lovers!"

Justin cut in, suddenly bothered by the implication in Edward's statement, "Katie, tell us about the children. Ayala reported that the children were conceived by IVF. Could someone have found out who the biological father was? Could he want the children?"

Now Ayala looked guilty and Kathryn glared at Mike. Chakotay just looked confused.

Ayala spoke in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the children's paternity. "I think this _Nicole_, obviously not her real name, was looking for a way to get to Chakotay and she found it with Kathryn Janeway's children. No matter how angry Commander Chakotay has ever been at Admiral Janeway he has always tried to keep her safe; he's always been very protective of her. I believe that whoever is behind this surmised that the same would apply to her children. I think they will try to blackmail him using Amelia."

"That's one possibility," said Edward, "but we have to consider all possibilities. What about this donor, Goldenbird? Who is the biological father? Could he want to take the children?"

Chakotay was a little slow in allowing it all to sink in but when it did he said, "IVF! You mean you…. they were… implanted? Wait this happened while Voyager was still in the Delta quadrant. One of the crew donated sperm so you could have children? I thought… Ayala?" Chakotay was now in utter disbelief.

"Ayala's been my bodyguard since the moment we arrived in the Alpha quadrant, and as such he was present when the doctor informed me, a week after the implantation,that it had been successful, and yes, we were still on Voyager at the time; it was in our final days. Ayala has been watching out for us ever since and is like a brother to me now."

"Enough, just tell us who the father is!" Edward was becoming impatient.

"It wasn't him." She said quietly, "Their father would never do something like this, even if he knew they were his."

"What?! This isn't happening. " Chakotay tried to understand. "Oh, Spirits Kathryn! Tell me you didn't. How could you? You stole someone's DNA!?" Chakotay ran both his hands into his hair obviously overwhelmed by the possibility that Kathryn could so something so horrible, and clearly remembering his distressing experience with Seska.

"Who the hell do you think I am, Seska?" Kathryn screamed. "I never took anything that wasn't given freely!"

Justin looked perturbed. "So it was an anonymous donor? What kind of practices did you have on that ship of yours, Kathryn?"

Kathryn was about to give Justin a sharp retort then changed her mind and answered. "They were implanted shortly before we left the Delta quadrant. The Doctor confirmed that reimplantation was successful shortly after arriving in the Alpha Quadrant. How embryos were conceived; the old fashioned way, donated, inseminated or otherwise, is nobody's business but mine… and their father's."

Justin decided to turn his attention to Chakotay. "Ok, Mister Chakotay, who is this woman who has taken Kathryn's child? How well do you know her? We need every detail you can think of. Also, we need to know what the nature of your work with the Rangers is." Turning to Edward Janeway he said, "That is what we determined, right? He's with the Rangers?" Edward nodded and Justin continued, "We have sources and will find out anyway, but it will be faster if you tell us and it may mean the difference between life and death for Kathryn's daughter."

Chakotay proceeded to explain the nature of his work and how the hardware he provided would send out information hidden within the outgoing communications of those employing it.

"So what you're saying is that these people think they are getting the upper hand with this supposedly stolen and illegal advanced technology. However, the technology itself is spying on them and secretly reporting to Starfleet." Edward summarized then opened a link with someone named Ryder, "I need some info on Operation Railroad; I need to know if there are any recipients in the sectors in the area that ship is headed to."

Chakotay thought Edward had more information than he did. He glanced over at Kathryn whose expression was unreadable. He could only guess at how she was feeling. She would be very angry, at just about everyone.

"Well that doesn't really narrow it down. It could be an angry client who figured it out, or another dealer who thinks you're taking his business…" Edward was cut off by a voice coming through his communicator.

"Sir, we've located the ships trail, they've quite a lead on us now. The ship is heading in the general direction of the Caraj System, a system with ten planets, seven are unpopulated of the three populated planets one is M-class pre-warp, and two are terraformed with environmental shield domes. The nearest one is about a week away at current speed. At our current speed, and if that ship maintains its speed it will take about that amount of time to overtake them. And sir, we have company, seems the Delta Flyer with eight Voyager crewmen is trailing the ship as well."

Both Kathryn and Chakotay thought to themselves, _It took them long enough._

"Can we increase speed at all? We want to reach them before they blend into one of the planets."

"Yes sir. At the maximum speeds sustainable for that length of time we should overtake them in five to six days."

"Do it." Edward closed the comm link then turned to Kathryn and Chakotay. "You two need to tell Mister Paris to turn around and let us handle it."

"First tell me how it is that I watched you and Justin die." Kathryn spoke up. "Once you've done that, well you've already told Chakotay he could go along. Just beam me over to the flyer, I'll let Paris know that you'd like him to turn around." Chakotay eyed her suspiciously, he knew Kathryn Janeway better than to think she'd ever back down, but Edward quickly agreed.

"There was a cloaked ship in orbit around Tau Ceti Prime, but everyone will deny knowledge of it. Justin and I were transported out and mannequins covered in our own organic regenerated skin cells were used to replace us, they looked real until you tried to heal them or interact with them. Our test flight was being watched by people who wanted to steal our latest technology. We were supposed to experience "difficulties", set down and get beamed out, you included, and the Mannequins were supposed to give them the impression that we died. Then we would watch and possibly "catch" whoever made the next move. The technology was made to be traced and it was supposed to lead us to the traitors with in Starfleet." Edward explained.

Kathryn then surmised, "But something went wrong, and the shuttle really did crash and it sank. I ended up unconscious face down in the snow… and you… you left me there. Do you know what I went through? I tried to save you." She eyed her father accusingly.

"It was more than that, it was sabotaged by someone who was close enough to gain access to the shuttle but didn't know that we were planning a sting of sorts. Just know we had a lock on your life signs the whole time; if you had been in danger we would have beamed you out. If they had seen us rescue you they would have known we were onto them and that the crash had been a set up. We had to get the nearest "known" ship to come for you or risk losing the whole operation. And I know you tried to beam us out, sweetheart, we had to scramble the transporter signal to keep you from retrieving the mannequins."

"You allowed me to blame myself for years. So, what, I'm supposed to be "dead" too?" Concluded Kathryn.

"No. We were supposed to catch the people who tried to steal the technology and the whole thing was supposed to go down as a covert ops mission. We were all supposed to go back home, but when you were rescued and the wreckage lost we didn't get the leads we needed. At that point to return from the "dead" would have meant giving away not only the entire operation, but all those who were working to expose the traitors as well. We would have put a lot of people and their families at risk; your mother and Phoebe included. There's been people keeping watch on you ever since. We've caught a few of those traitors in the time you were gone but not in time to prevent further horrors with the Cardassians and the Dominion. I was very worried when you went missing and we found out that Cavit was one of the spies we were after. I thought for sure he'd taken over or attempted to take over your ship. I just kept hoping that Paris and Bennet knew what they were doing and would keep you safe. You understand don't you Goldenbird?"

After a long pause Kathryn answered, "Yes, I think I do. You can beam me over to the Delta Flyer whenever you're ready." He voice was even and composed. Chakotay knew she was planning something. Edward Janeway happily sent her over to the DF. The moment she materialized Kathryn immediately sat herself down next to Tom at the controls.


	8. Chapter 8

sS

I'm very sorry it's taken this long to update. Real life... well you know. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave me your thoughts.

I still don't own the characters, or star trek, or voyager, or the delta flyer. I still make no money, but I do enjoy writing. Thanks to all who are following or have favorite. It's immensely rewarding to think you are enjoying my tale.

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When people suddenly started disappearing from the Janeway home Tom Paris quickly assessed the situation. Amelia had been kidnapped by Chakotay's latest blond. Ayala was beamed aboard a covert ops ship in orbit and Kathryn and Chakotay had been quick enough to tag along for the ride.

"Miral!" Tom ran towards the children, "Miral, Sweetheart, are you ok?" Tom put his arms around his daughter, then meeting Eddie's eyes he placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, " Eddie, were you hurt?"

Both kids shook their heads and Eddies voice faltered as he spoke, "She took 'Melia. Where's my Mom?"

"She's gone to get Amelia back. Don't worry, we're going to try to go help her too. You two stay close to Mirna and Grandma Gretchen." The children nodded in acknowledgement and were led into the house by Mirna.

Owen Paris was just as outraged as Tom and B'Elanna, after all, his granddaughter had watched the kidnapper succeed in taking one of her two best friends. Miral had fought as if it were her own life at stake; just as any Voyager would have done for another. Owen used his contacts, while Tom discreetly used his own, and within minutes the Delta Flyer V had been delivered to them.

The Delta Flyer V had undergone several upgrades to improve its speed. Delta quadrant technology had been upgraded and integrated into newer Starfleet technology to surpass the performance either could offer on its own. Still Tom was worried about the time they had lost in waiting for its delivery and thus pushed the Flyer to maximum speed following the warp trails and plasma residue left buy the two ships they were pursuing. He was joined by Harry, B'Elanna, Susan Nicoletti, Tal Celes, Henly and both Jarvin and Jarvis. Owen Paris, Libby Kim, Gretchen, and Phoebe stayed with the children of those who rushed off to the rescue.

They had just about caught up to one of the ships when they received a hail. "Knox to Delta Flyer; Prepare to receive Kathryn Janeway. We will be beaming her aboard your vessel and you are to turn around and return to Earth."

Tom knew Kathryn Janeway would never willingly turn back. She couldn't have agreed. Tom quickly acknowledged the request and stated that he was ready to receive the Admiral. He lowered his shields and watched as a furious Kathryn Janeway materialized. Admiral Kathryn Janeway was not used to being ignored, and certainly was no longer used to being treated like a child, not to mention what she'd learned about the crash at Tau Ceti Prime. "Tom, let me show you which plasma residue we're following. We're going to keep a little distance we don't want to come up directly behind the Knox. We'll let them be our distraction."

"Admiral, I thought we had orders to turn around?" He said with a grin, knowing full well that was never going to happen.

"From who Tom? Did you by any chance catch his name or his rank? I certainly didn't hear him give you any information that would lead you to believe he was any kind of authority here."

"No. Admiral, you're right, he didn't. Following the plasma residue, as ordered." Tom knew it was someone in covert ops who had given him the order, after all he had once worked covert ops himself, but he wasn't about to abandon Kathryn, or Amelia Janeway, and the Admiral was right; there was no way he could know if the person speaking had any kind of authority at all.

"Oh, Admiral?"

"Yes, Tom."

"I requested some tactical gear be placed in the storage lockers just in case we need it. I suggest we all change into the clothing and gear in there. There are knives, phasers, some all-in-one tools, small but powerful lights, and some zip ties. There are pockets for all the gear in the utility pants." Tom informed the group.

"Zip ties? What for?" Kathryn asked confused.

"To tie up the bag guys' hands, Admiral." Tom said with amusement. "How many times have we stunned some belligerent Delta quadrant alien only to have them regain consciousness and attack us again? Or have a prisoner decide to fight back while being escorted to the brig? Seems that was a silly oversight don't you think? This way they are restrained even if they are conscious and we can make them walk too. We don't know who the kidnapper was going to meet, or how many of them there are. We should be prepared to detain several individuals each. Better safe than sorry Admiral."

"Tom?"

"Yes Admiral."

"Why didn't you ever mention zip ties while we were on _Voyager _and still in the Delta Quadrant? It really could have saved us some grief you know."

Tom grinned.

"Ok, we've only got three cots and we've got nine passengers. We take shifts resting and working. It'll be sometime before we catch up to them."

"Aye, Admiral."

VVVVV

It had been hours and hours since Amelia had been kidnapped, hours since Ayala, Janeway, and Chakotay had transported to what everyone assumed was a nearby ship, hours since Tom Paris, B'Elanna, Harry Kim, Nicoletti, Celes, Henly, Jarvin, and Jarvis had left on the Delta Flyer to help with the rescue. Hours! Darkness had descended on the Janeway home in Indiana, and the dawn wasn't too far off now and still they had no received no word, no updates, and no clues on what might be happening. Most of the guests had left. A few Voyagers remained, scheduling security and babysitting rotations amongst those willing, just as they'd done on Voyager with Naomi's care, and any other voluntary duties. The only difference was that normally Chakotay was in charge. With ALL the children now asleep in the Amelia and Eddie's bedrooms the Voyagers gathered in the living room of the Janeway home.

"Will we even be able to pick up a trail at this point?" asked Rollins.

"Of course. Don't you remember all those times Janeway pulled a miracle out of her hat and located people who'd been missing for days. There has to be a way if she did it." Samantha Wildman insisted.

"Yes, but she's not here to tell us how she did it. Besides Paris, Torres, and Kim went along with Celes, Jarvin, and Jarvis, not to mention that Chakotay, the Admiral and Ayala had already gone after Amelia on God knows what ship. So all the people who could tell us _how_ she pulled off her little miracles are already out there. We wouldn't know what to do." Said Harper.

"Come on, Harper. We'll figure it out as we go. They could use our help." Said Dalby in true Voyager spirit. Doyle nodded in agreement.

"Some of us signed up to help out with the kids. They would want to know that we are looking out for them. I'd like to be out there kicking butt with the Admiral again, but we can't all go. I say we do what wwe can here. If we don't hear from the Admiral or Commanders Paris or Kim in three days, then we go after them. For now we stick to our rotations of taking care of the kids." Bristow replied, as his new wife nodded her agreement.

"How are you going to feel if they don't come back? If the people who took Amelia wanted to use her to get at Admiral Janeway, or at Chakotay, or Harry or any number of you Voyagers, what's to say any of them come back at all? It could be a trap." All eyes turned to an almost hysterical Libby Kim. In an unspoken agreement it was decided that Samantha Wildman would handle her. Sam took her outside to talk and the Voyagers agreed to meet again, and discuss their options.

From the top of the stairs Eddie and Miral listened to the conversation. The other children who were left behind had at least one parent down in that living room. Eddie, Miral, and little Owen didn't. If their parents didn't come back they would be orphans. Eddie reached for Miral's hand and whispered, "If they don't come back we take care of each other."

"Promise?" asked Miral.

"I promise." Answered Eddie

"Owen too?"

"Yes, Owen, too. " He lead her back to his bedroom and they fell asleep holding hands on his bed, while little Owen Paris slept a few feet away in Eddie's old crib.

Owen Paris tried to take Miral and little Owen home the day after the kidnapping. He tried to convince his granddaughter that she would be best cared for by her own grandmother. The child, however, had different ideas. "Grandma Gretchen takes care of me fine! Besides Momma and Daddy left me here, they always say to stay where I am so they always know where to look. I'm NOT leaving. Mommy and Daddy will look for me HERE! I want to stay with Eddie, we can help take care of each other, like we did yesterday. His mom is gone too, we have to take care of each other we promised!"

Owen Paris adored his granddaughter but sometimes it was painfully obvious that she was as stubborn as her mother. Not that he didn't like B'Elanna, he did, but a stubborn Klingon could be difficult to deal with at times. "Miral, sweetheart, your grandmother is worried about you and just wants to be able to hold you and take care of you. She was really frightened when she heard what happened yesterday."

"Then she can come here. I don't want to leave!" Miral ran out of the rear door with Eddie at her heals, followed by Mirna. After all they couldn't go without a security escort. They hid in a nearby corn field for a while before making their way to a nearby creek which, at the time, held barely a trickle of water. They played on the bank of the creek and climbed on the trees all day. They didn't return until hunger got the best of them. Mirna followed them back home careful to stay out of sight as did the Voyagers on that duty shift.

"Young lady, your grandfather was worried sick about you and Eddie as we all were! You two cannot go running off without telling us where you're going, especially now. You must have a grown up with you at all times. It was unfair of you to do that to your grandfather, Miral. If you two want me to let you stay for a few days you need to be more considerate of others, and you need to make sure to have an adult with you."

"I'm sorry Grandma Gretchen," Miral apologized, "but does that mean you'll let me stay with you?"

"Yes, for a couple of days. But only if you apologize to your grandfather when he comes by this evening. He's taken little Owen home." Gretchen explained.

"Thanks, Grandma." Eddie threw his arms around his grandmother.

"Thank you Grandma Gretchen." Miral smiled.

"Can we get something to eat?"

"Of course. You two must be starving we had lunch hours ago."

Gretchen quietly thanked Mirna for letting them know the kids were fine and for watching over them during their little escapade while the Voyagers volunteering at that time continued to watch the perimeter and entrances to the Janeway property and home.

Dalby, Doyle, Harper, Rollins and Wildman met at the Janeway home again, to ask for any updates. Gretchen wasn't able to give them any more information. As they readied themselves to leave Mirna and Charles approached them.

"I know you want more information but it's best they maintain comm silence until they know who or what they are dealing with, but I can tell you this: I received an encoded message from, well the people I work for. They have a lead and are working to resolve this. So don't worry, it's being handled but... Well would you be willing to join a team of us?" They nodded. "Ok, well this may be bigger than they originally thought so I'm working on preparing a ship just in case. We should know more soon. They are going to check in again when they can. We'll meet here again when they do. I'll contact you."

**Two Days Later:**

"Sir we've lost the trail; it ends a few million kilometers ahead. They must have slowed to thrusters; even impulse engines leave a trail." Edward listened to the report from his Ops officer.

"Scan the area, visual and sensor scans." Edward responded.

"There are plenty of moons and planets in that area, we'll have to get eyes behind them all. Let me take a shuttle, I'll keep a distance." Chakotay made his request fully aware of what an ambush could cost them.

"No. I'll send one of my men if I think it's necessary, for now we follow the trail to its end and do a scan from that location. We may get more clues once there."

Chakotay's experience in the Delta quadrant told him that this was a bad idea. His inner red alert was flashing, klaxons blaring, he knew enough to trust his instincts; but this wasn't his call.

Arriving at the location they spotted the seemingly dead ship lingering partially concealed behind the nearest moon.

"Scan for life signs." Ordered Edward Janeway.

"Sir I'm not getting any readings. I'm showing no life signs." Came the Ops officer's voice.

"Lifesigns can be masked, they could easily be using a dampener or a scattering field, let me take a shuttle and a team to investigate." Pleaded Chakotay, who had been on the wrong end of an ambush way too many times in the Delta Quadrant.

"Ayala, Chakotay, and Harris beam onto that ship. I want to know exactly what happened." Edward ignored Chakotay's suggestion but thought he'd appease the man by allowing him to beam over with Ayala and Harris. "Beam directly onto the bridge."

No sooner had the away team beamed over when the other ship opened fire, knowing shields would be down during transport, they had been waiting and watching for it. The attack had the planned results, Edward's weapons and shields were offline. The second volley took out the transporters, engines and damaged several areas of the ship. Relays blew and hull breaches were reported. It was Edward's ship that was dead in the water. It had all been planned; they had expected them to do exactly what they'd done. A few moments later Ayala and Harris were beamed back onto Edward's crippled ship, unconscious. Chakotay was not returned. Returning the two men alive was just a sick way to distract and taunt the crew of the Knox as the kidnapper's ship prepared to issue final blow and destroy the Knox.

VVV

Tom Paris approached the area from the opposite side of the moon, and behind the kidnapper's ship. He quickly realized that the offending ship was only _playing_ dead. As he approached the ship opened fire at an unseen target; a target hidden from the Delta Flyer's sight by the moon. Paris quickly realized it must be the Knox. "Mister Paris do we have anything that will disable that ship without destroying it? That means no transphasic torpedoes. Remember Amelia is aboard."

"Yes, ma'am. We have standard phasers, and photonic torpedoes. Their shields are down, looks like there is a transport in progress. Targeting their shield emmiters. Fire." Tom took advantage of what he knew was a short lived opportunity and gave the order to fire. Harry Kim fired the phasers.

"Direct hit. Sheilds are disabled. Targeting engines." Harry Kim called out.

"Fire." It was Admiral Kathryn Janeway who gave the order this time.

"Engines disabled." Harry called happily.

Kathryn pulled every weapon that could be found on the Flyer and armed her away team with them; she took the only compression rifle available and strapped a phaser to her waist. "Jarvin, Jarvis, Torres, Nicoletti, Celes you're with me. Commander Kim, beam us aboard that ship. Henley you stay here at assisting Mister Paris and Mister Kim."

"Aye, Cap… Admiral." Came Harry's response. If it weren't for the fact that their mission was to save the Admiral's daughter he would have been enjoying this mission with his former Captain. Itwas like old times.

VVVVV

When Chakotay, Ayala, and Harris materialized on the kidnapper's ship they were immediately met with phaser fire. Ayala and Harris were stunned, as was Chakotay, but only Ayala and Harris were beamed back to their own ship. Chakotay was beamed to a holding cell where little Amelia sat crouched in a corner crying. She had been given little to eat and drink and had cried herself to sleep several times in her few days aboard, only to wake up crying again. The room was enclosed on all sides and the entry access was a door. The room lighting was somewhat dim, but Amelia could still easily tell that the man that was beamed in was Chakotay. "Chakotay! Mister Chakotay!" Amelia called out as she shook Chakotay. She quickly retreated to her corner again as the ship was rocked by incoming fire. The flashing lights and noisy kalaxons signaled a red alert.

A few minutes later both Amelia and Chakotay were enveloped by a transporter beam and rematerialized in a shuttle. They were trapped in place by a force field. As Chakotay began to stir, a growing commotion was approaching. Jarvin and Celes ran into the shuttle bay chasing an unknown man, firing at the man in order to prevent him from reaching the shuttle. The shuttle hatch opened, leaving Amelia in clear view as the man ran in. Jarvin and Celes stopped firing for fear of hitting Amelia. They attempted to reach the shuttle before the hatch closed but were too late. The shuttle launched and quickly accelerated headed in the general direction of the three inhabited planets.

Inside the ship Kathryn Janeway, along with Jarvis, Torres, and Nicoletti had been engaging in short range phaser fights throughout the ship. With the element of surprise on their side they had been far more successful than Chakotay's team. Kathryn and Jarvis easily stunned and restrained the three people on the bridge before the kidnappers even reached for their phasers. B'Elanna had the stunned criminals beamed to the Knox. Kathryn left Nicoletti her compression rifle as she was to stay on the bridge of the ship covering B'Elanna.

Clearing the ship was a different matter. As they rounded a corner to the hallway where the holding cells were located, three women got the drop on them. From a perpendicular corridor they kicked and knocked the phasers out of Kathryn and Jarvis' hands as they approached the intersection. They briefly engaged in hand to hand combat. Kathryn was able to identify two of the women as the dates Chakotay had taken to her home; Nancy, now a brunette, from years ago, and Nicole the one who kidnapped Amelia. These people had obviously been trying to get close to Chakotay for years now. Kathryn briefly entertained the thought that the third woman had probably dated Chakotay as well but brushed the idea out of her head to handle the situation at hand. Jarvis, who had been a step behind Kathryn had a split second more than she to react. He quickly overpowered and subdued Nancy after the initial kick by driving the heel of his plam into her face with a nauseating crunch and began fighting the third woman. He subdued the still nameless woman, bound her and Nancy's hands and alerted B'Elanna. He then informed the Knox that they would be receiving two more prisoners, but nothing happened. With two conscious prisoners Jarvis could do little to help Kathryn in her fight with the woman known as Nicole. Kathryn's fight with Nicole was somewhat intense, for a few moments it almost seemed like one of Chakotay's boxing matches, with both women giving and taking punches. Kathryn surprised Nicole with a left to the chin but the woman got in a counter punch to Janeway's face. A second punch was blocked by Janeway and she in turn connected her own counter punch. The fight slowly transformed itself into what looked like one of Tuvok's self-defense training drills with more full body action rather than just punches. Nicole had just dropped Kathryn to the floor with a leg swipe and lauched herself atop her, when B'Elanna's voice came through their commbadges. "A shuttle with Amelia in it is being launched!" Kathryn used her training, and her legs, to toss Nicole over her head and onto the floor, both women stood at about the same time but Kathryn quickly ended the fight with a quick and powerful round kick to Nicole's jaw.

"Tom go after that shuttle, it has Amelia!" Kathryn screamed into her commbadge as she worked to bind Nicole's hands with a zip tie.

"We have to get you out first, Captain." Tom reverted to her former rank without even realizing it. "B'Elanna just informed us that the self-destruct sequence has been activated on the ship you are currently on. Whoever activated the self-destruct sequence also activated a dampening field; it's interfering with our transporter beams. My guess is that they didn't want us to follow the shuttle. B'Elanna is working on it. Harry is working to cut through it on this end. B'E says it'll be a minute or two."

"No! Damn it! How long until the ship self-destructs?" Kathryn's frustration was evident.

"If our readings are correct, about eight and a half minutes, Captain." Came Tom's voice.

Kathryn and Jarvis gathered their prisoners and head back to the bridge where B'Elanna was working to disable the dampening field. The walk seemed to take forever. They arrived on the bridge with only three minutes left on the self-destruct count down.

"That shuttle had Captain Chakotay on it too."B'Elanna informed the Admiral. "I've just about got the dampening field disabled, Admiral. Got it!" B'Elanna sighed in relief.

" Yes!" Nicoletti cheered B'Elanna's success then opening a communications link, with two minutes to spare, she said, "Paris beam us off of this thing."

"Right away!"

They materialized in the aft area of the Flyer prisoners and all. "Get us away from that ship Paris." Screamed Kathryn.

"Aye, Cap… Admiral." Said Paris corrected himself."

They speed away from the explosion. Kathryn was hoping that her father's ship was far enough so that no one aboard would be seriously hurt. The explosion rattled the Flyer but they had put enough distance between them that even without the ablative armor the damage would have been minimal. The Knox however was much closer than they were.

"Knox to Delta Flyer." Came a hail.

Kathryn was in no mood to deal with her father but she needed to know that everyone was okay. She responded to the communication as Admiral Kathryn Janeway would; treating the communication as a professional. She would not be ignored or treated as a child any longer.

"This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway aboard the Delta Flyer. What can I do for you _Admiral_? Are you in need of assistance?"

Edward Janeway had been monitoring the situation. "Kathryn, beam yourself and your people back here and let my men go after Amelia. You can help get my ship back into working order, bring the engines back online, while my best trackers find Amelia and the man who took her."

"I ask again, are you or your people in need of assistance if not stand by to receive the prisoners, Admiral. As for your plan, well, your first one failed miserably and, if it weren't for us, all of these criminals would have gotten away with my daughter, and you and every one on your ship would be dead; it would have been the real thing this time. You should be thanking us, not attempting to hijack our Flyer. I have much greater faith in my own people, my Voyager family, than I do in yours. If you'd like to help, see if you can get any valuable information from the prisoners. You may beam Ayala over as well." Kathryn said angrily, "Now if you don't mind, unless you are in need of assistance, I have two family members to rescue." Kathryn initiated the transport of the bimbos in her custody.

"We have only a few minor injuries. Kathryn… Goldenbird. Please be reasonable. I don't want you or Amelia to get hurt." If the crew noticed the man's nickname for Kathryn they didn't give any indication of it.

"It seems to me that you just don't want to give up control, regardless of the outcome and that is unacceptable. We Voyagers are resourceful, we've had to be, and we're tough. I'm sorry Admiral, but I don't need you to hold my hand or pat my head. What I need is to rescue my daughter and Captain Chakotay. Good bye Admiral. Admiral Kathryn Janeway out." She cut the connection and ordered Tom to scan for the shuttle's trail as B'Elanna transported the prisoners. They set off after the shuttle leaving Ayala on the Knox.

"We have a little problem Admiral." B'Elanna spoke up.

"What is it?" Snapped Kathryn.

"Well the latest retrofit for the flyer was transferring over from our usual relays to a new nano-circuitry but the nano-circuitry hadn't been brought online yet. Some relays had already been removed and the extra strain has blown at least two more. I can fix it Admiral but it'll take me a least an hour. In the meantime we have to maintain warp 2 or below to keep from blowing more. If we lose another 2 we'll be dead in the water, Admiral." Kathryn shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose at B'Elanna's explanation.

"Well you're the one who has been rebuilding her, you would know. Do it. Tom, follow the trail warp 2. Shuttles can't usually maintain high warp the way a starship can but if the kidnapper can manage to maintain warp 5 or higher he'll be days ahead of us. I want to catch up to him before he reaches any planets. I'll help B'Elanna with the relays so we don't lose too much ground." Reasoned Kathryn.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry real life keeps distracting me even as I try to fight it. I'm still poor, no royalties or monetary gains to speak of, in any venue. I hope I still have readers out there. Please enjoy. I appreciate your input.

* * *

Dalby, Doyle, Harper, Bristow and Wildman had met again as agreed. Sam, however, knew she wouldn't be joining any rescue. She wouldn't be leaving Naomi behind, but she brought Baytart and Hickman with her knowing they were willing to join in any efforts to assist their former command team. Charles and David led them into Edward Janeway's former office.

"We don't know who these people are yet, but we do know the general direction they were traveling in. We also know that it takes quite a bit of resources to obtain the type of ship they are flying. It's actually a very small ship. It can be manned by eight people at a time therefore can accommodate 30 or 40, but it is well equipped when it comes to technology and weapons. It has phasers and can carry up to twenty torpedoes but we were unable to determine what kind of torpedoes they had aboard, but they do have them. It can hold two shuttles more if they use their cargo bay as a shuttle bay as well. We have no idea what their destination is or what we will find there. I've determined it is best to send out reinforcements."

"We plan to leave tomorrow at 0700 hours. If you plan to go meet at this address." Charles handed them a card with the address of an empty warehouse. "Wear tactical gear if you have it, we'll be gone a while so make any necessary arrangements."

Doyle spoke up, "How many of us can you accommodate?"

"Probably about 10 to 15 in addition to our own men. Why? Do you think others will come as well?" David asked as the former crew just looked around at each other and nodded.

"Absolutely." Doyle responded. "Expect at least 10."

"Alright, but this has to remain top secret. No one else can know, so make sure those you "invite" are trustworthy."

"Understood." The former Voyagers responded and left to make their preparations.

XXXXX

Chakotay watched the man piloting the shuttle and the console he was working on. He was trying to check the readings. He wanted to know where they were and where they were heading. As small as the space in the shuttle was Chakotay thought he had a pretty good idea of what the man was doing.

Amelia took comfort in Chakotay's presence and her crying began to diminish. She would lay her head in his lap to sleep as he reassured her that he would stay with her and that her mother was coming. Amelia would whisper to him when she was hungry. Chakotay would then loudly and ceaselessly demand that food be provided until the kidnapper provided them with cold unsweetened oatmeal, or some equally unsavory meal, just to get some quiet. Because he feared Chakotay, the man would simply beam the replicated mush into the aft compartment and avoid lowering the force field.

After what seemed like a week the kidnapper set a collision course to a moon outside of the furthest of the three planets in the Caraj System and he set the shuttle to travel on with impulse engines on auto pilot. As he waited for the right time to set the transporters he told Chakotay, "You're going to tell me who receives the information from the hardware you've been selling and you're going to tell me how to intercept the signal from the others you've sold it to. I imagine the information you're gathering could come in very handy, and could be quite profitable."

"How did you discover the signal?" Chakotay was trying to get the man to talk without giving up any information himself. As they passed over the M-class planet he pointed a phaser at Chakotay and transported all three of them to the surface.

Once the surface he answered, "Completely by accident, one of our people was trying to fix a programing code and stumbled upon the signal only a few days after you first sold us the equipment, four years ago. We tried to get you to tell one of the girls, but you never gave them any information on your work activities. That would have been the easy way. We needed some… leverage. The girls figured you were not the kind of man who would talk without a certain type of persuasion." Chakotay took note of his surroundings; they had materialized in an alley perpendicular to what seemed to be a busy market place. Open shops had small tables set up in front of them to entice shoppers to peruse samples of their offerings and hopefully enter in search of more. Chakotay carefully placed himself between the man and Amelia.

"So why take this child? She's no different than any other child I've come in contact with." Chakotay inquired.

"Devaro decided that, you know her as Nicole. She said that, after seeing you at that party, she knew you had a special bond with those kids, said they looked like you. She suggested that they might even be yours." He said with an evil smile, "I really don't care about that, so long as you give me what I want. I want to know how to intercept and decode those signals, and you're going to tell me. If I have to torture the kid to get you to talk that's fine by me too."

Chakotay laughed out loud. "You can't seriously believe that I know anything about the design and function of the equipment. They paid me a few strips of gold pressed latinum and a couple of cases of Romulan Ale to deliver a dozen or so devices. I know nothing of the technology, or even the true names of those who paid me. They contact me when they have a job for me; I have no information for you no matter what you do to the kid."

The man looked so startled that Chakotay was certain that this man was in no way the brains of this operation. How exactly he ended up holding the phaser was still a mystery to Chakotay. Taking advantage of the man's surprise Chakotay reached for the phaser and yelled, "Run Amelia!" Amelia ran into the market place.

As they struggled for the phaser, the man elbowed Chakotay in the face. With a rush of anger and adrenaline Chakotay grabbed the man by the neck with one hand even as he held the man's phaser armed hand with the other. Chakotay charged toward the nearest building, driving the man's head straight into the wall with all his might. As the man collapsed to the floor, Chakotay heard a scream, and some words Chakotay couldn't understand, but he assumed they were a call for authorities. His communicator had been taken when he was first abducted. No communicator meant no, universal translator, and no signal to lock onto. Damn! Chakotay looked at the man's pale face and lifeless, yet open, eyes and for a moment he wanted to scream himself, it had been a long time since he'd killed a man; even longer since he had used his bare hands to do so. He certainly hadn't ever wanted to do it again. Reason finally kicked in and he fled the scene.

Running down the alley and away from the marketplace, Chakotay was conscious of his need to return for Amelia. He hoped that Kathryn had taught her to stay close to where she'd been lost so that when he returned he could find her. When he arrived at a small dwelling with women's clothing hung out on a line to dry Chakotay figured that they must be on a pre-warp planet. The hanging clothes, however, meant Chakotay could steal some local style clothing off of someone's line, if he could find some men's clothing that fit. It also meant that he probably wouldn't find a comm system to send a message to Ayala, or the Delta Flyer if it hadn't turned back.

A couple of hours and several homes later Chakotay finally found some clothing he could wear. He had been sneaking around using trees and the tall, dry, wild grasses as cover. It helped that the homes were separated by several hundred meters and quite a few trees. He came upon a pond and while washing his hands and face he discovered that he had been bloodied in the fight. It was a good thing he hadn't tried to return to the marketplace in that state. The body must have been found by now, and he must be wanted for murder. If it weren't for Amelia he would have put as much distance between himself and the marketplace as humanly possible. Clean and dressed in local attire, Chakotay headed back to the marketplace.

VVVVV

Amelia ran like Chakotay told her. She ran past a few shops and ducked behind a table with scarves and jewelry displayed. When no one came out of the alley she sat down on the floor to cry. Suddenly a scream cut through the air and there were calls for the police. She looked over the table again and saw a crowd forming at the entrance to the alley. She sat again and continued to cry.

"Don't cry. What's your name?" Amelia heard the voice but didn't see anyone. She gently moved the cloth that hung over the table and saw a girl of maybe seven years, sitting cross legged on the floor with a doll on her lap.

"I'm Amelia. Who are you?"

"My name is Genira. It means hopeful, that's what my father says. This is my father's shop. Where is your father? You know you can't be out without your mother or father. You'll be taken to the orphan camps. No one ever comes back from the orphan camps."

Amelia looked at Genira in horror. "Why? Why would they do that?"

"Father says there used to be a lot of children living without parents, sleeping by the roads. He says they would steal from the shops and from people's properties. So the authorities started sending them to work in the camps and the mines, but none of them ever come back. Not even once they are grown. So Father says I am to stay hidden unless he is with me, or the authorities might decide to take me too. If they do we will never see each other again."

Amelia cried even harder. Once she calmed a little, she told Genira, "I was accidentally separated from… my Father. I am sure he will come looking for me; but if I get sent to the camps he won't know where to look."

"Well you can stay here with me for a little while. I usually only have my doll to talk to. We can see through the table cloth, and others can't see us. I'm to ring the bell if someone comes to let my Father know that he may have a customer." She pointed at a string that ran into the shop and was attached to a bell attached to the wall. "Sit with me, and you can wait here for your father." Genira was happy to have a playmate.

Amelia sat and talked to Genira for what seemed like hours; nervously fiddling with the communicator in her pocket. When Genira was called in for lunch Amelia heard her stomach growl as well. It had been a long time since she'd eaten. Amelia watched the nearby stands carefully and noticed that as smell of food permeated the air children emerged from under a few other tables only to disappear into the shops for their own meals. The smell of food only intensified her hunger. Slowly Amelia emerged from under the table and inched her way toward a stand with fruit on it. As she reached for a pear like fruit a hand grabbed her wrist and a harsh male voice said, "You must not steal!"

Amelia screamed in horror. They were going to take her away, she would never see her family again! She began crying again.

Chakotay had been searching the marketplace for Amelia without any luck when he heard a scream. He ran toward the source of the scream to find Amelia screaming and crying as a man held her by the wrist. Chakotay's first instinct was to beat the man, but logic won out and he tried to talk to him instead. "Sir, what is the problem? Sir!"

"Father!" Yelled Amelia, remembering what her new friend had told her.

Chakotay tried again, "Sir? What has my child done?" Chakotay thought it was best to play along with Amelia.

The man spoke a language Chakotay didn't understand. "Amelia, do you understand what he's saying?" He asked as he came closer.

"Yes, um… Father… Daddy … uh, he says that I should not steal his fruit and that you need to keep me with you or I will be taken away." Amelia said nervously then whispered, "I was hungry."

"Amelia, do you have a communicator?" Chakotay asked.

"Yes, sir, I do." She said as she handed her communicator to Chakotay.

"If we're close enough to each other it'll work for both of us." He let the child keep it for the time being and came to stand right beside her.

"I'm sorry sir. I would happily pay for the items my daughter wanted but I do not know what kind of currency you use. We are from a distant land and we were accidentally separated." Chakotay explained.

The man motioned him into the shop to talk; Chakotay followed. "I have some slips of gold pressed latinum, but I do not know if you value this material here." Chakotay took out the slips in his possession.

The man looked at the material pressed his lips and said, "Yes, I think it would have some value here, but your daughter did not take anything, therefore, you do not owe me anything. The authorities in this area take any children they find unsupervised by their mother or father, under the pretense of keeping our town safe. If a child is seen stealing or wandering they increase patrols and this endangers all of our children. Our children must stay indoors or spend their time under our tables. That is why we bother with the tables at all. Our children wish to see the sun and sky. You understand why I could not let her take from my stand out in the open."

"Yes, I do." Chakotay was even more worried than before, if that was possible.

"That is good. Now keep her close to you, it is best if authorities do not find any children at all. It means they spend less time here. Also, any child with grandparent, aunt, uncle or other relative can be taken, so do not leave her in the care of others. I am Dathrel. Now, come join us for lunch, it is just my son, Merich, and I. His mother is no longer of this land and his sister was taken to the orphan camps eight seasons ago, while walking with my mother. The grief and guilt was too much and it took my mother from this land as well." Dathrel explained sadly to Chakotay.

"You are too kind sir. I will gladly exchange a slip of latinum for a meal for my child and myself, and directions to a place where we can lodge." Chakotay negotiated. He had no idea how long they would be on this planet, he hoped it wouldn't be long, but he still needed to secure a place to stay.

"Tonight you may stay here. As for tomorrow; I know a place where you can stay. My wife's mother, Reyana, is a rather lonely woman. She would love the company of her grandson but as you know that is not possible given our laws. I must stay here and work and it would be plain to see she is too old to be mother to my son. If I send word that you are a friend she would gladly have you and your child for company. Payment is not necessary, but if you could help her with some simple repairs we would be most grateful. I do not get much chance to help her maintain her home." Chakotay accepted the man's offer and sat for a meal with Dathrel and Merich.

During the meal loud voices could be heard and Dathrel went out to investigate. When he returned he was agitated and obviously afraid. "The authorities say a man was murdered in a nearby alley. They were asking questions and Genira, the child next door, said she hadn't seen anyone other than a lost girl. The authorities will be on alert. You must go with caution. Soon it will be dark; the roads are not safe at night as they are patrolled until halfnight. Get some rest you will leave early in the morning. If you travel you must stay out of sight, in case the authorities are looking for you. I will pack you a snack for the trip." The next morning Dathrel woke Chakotay and indicated that it was time for them to be on their way. The sun had not yet risen and it was best to put some distance between them and the town before daybreak. Chakotay gratefully took the offered snack and he and Amelia went on their way. Armed with directions and a crudely drawn map, Chakotay and Amelia set out to find Reyana's home beyond the town border. Sneaking quietly out of town they went on their way using the tall grasses and trees for cover as Chakotay had done once before.

"Chakotay?" Amalia asked after a half hour of silent walking.

"You'd better keep calling me Dad in case we get overheard Amelia. You have to call me Dad, Daddy or Father." Answered Chakotay.

"Oh. I was just going to ask you if you were mad that I called you Daddy. I was worried that you'd be mad, like Mommy was when we called you Uncle." She said quietly with her head down. Watching Amelia's emotional pain was even worse than watching Kathryn's. Chakotay wanted to hold the little girl and will all of her pain away. He became angry at Kathryn once again.

"No! Absolutely not Amelia. In fact I would love to have a little girl just like you. As far as I'm concerned you can call me Daddy, or Uncle; whichever you like and I would be honored, but for now we need to stay safe and for that you must call me Dad." Chakotay told her honestly. Amelia calling him Daddy warmed him and saddened him as well; he could only dream of having a bright, inquisitive, loving child; a family, what he'd always dreamed of having with Kathryn.

"Do you know _why_ Mommy was mad that we called you Uncle? Did you make her mad? Aren't you friends?" The child had a lot of questions.

"I don't know Amelia. I thought we were friends. I thought we were very good friends for a very long time. We did fight sometimes you know, like all friends do, and sometimes it was really bad, but we always found a way to be friends again. I've really missed her."

"It didn't look like it. Why are you angry at each other?" Amelia still didn't understand.

"I didn't think we were, well, until we started fighting at your party. By the way I'm really sorry about that. I know it's not fun to see grownups fight and I shouldn't have raised my voice. I hope I didn't scare you." Chakotay walked along holding the child's hand in his.

"You didn't, well, a little bit. Not as much as the lady who took me did." Chakotay grimaced. He had just been compared to a kidnapper.

After walking another long while in silence he noticed Amelia yawning and her eyes drooping. Looking at the sky he concluded that it must be close to noon. He realized that for the last week, maybe more, the child's sleep patterns had been anything but normal and she probably needed to take a nap. He reached down and picked her up; holding her like one would hold a sleeping toddler. Amelia fell asleep almost immediately, with her head lying on his shoulder. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and continued on his way.

VVVVV

"Admiral, we may have a problem." Tom called to Kathryn, who was in the aft section of the Delta Flyer trying to rest at the insistence of her companions.

"Now what, Tom?" She asked rushing to an open seat.

"If that shuttle continues on its course it will crash into a moon just beyond the last of the three inhabited planets. We're still too far to scan for life signs so I can't tell if they are still aboard. They were close enough to the first planet to beam down onto it. It looks like they're in range of the second planet now, by the time we reach them they'll be in range of the third." Tom explained.

"So we follow the shuttle in case they're on it, if they aren't we come back and scan the planets."

"Aye Admiral."

"Admiral, I'm not reading any life signs on that shuttle." Harry reported as they came into scanning range of the shuttle.

"We didn't get any from the last ship either. Can we get close enough to beam aboard?" Kathryn asked.

"We're not in range yet, but at this rate I'm not sure we'd have enough time to beam someone aboard and back off again."

"Tom, B'Elanna, can we increase to maximum speed for just a few minutes?" Kathryn voice was tinged with a bit of panic.

"We've done worse, Admiral." Came Tom's answer.

"If they're in there we'll rescue them and if they're not well; I'd rather know they're not in there before it crashes even if we have to stop to make some repairs." She reasoned.

"Understood, increasing to maximum speed." Tom kept the flyer at maximum speed until they were close enough to beam aboard then he quickly dropped out of warp and into a speed safe for transporting. "We're in range, Admiral."

"By my calculations we should have approximately five minutes." Reported Kim.

"Alright, B'Elanna you're with me. We beam aboard and take the shuttle. If there's time we take it under our control. Understood?" Ordered Kathryn.

"Admiral, if you don't mind I think I should come along, for safety's sake." Said Jarvis.

"Three might be a bit crowded, the shuttle isn't very big."

"Only if they're still on board. If they are it would be best to make sure we can take him and keep Amelia and Chakotay safe." He reasoned hoping she would agree.

"Alright. Torres you focus on getting the shuttle under your control. Jarvis your main focus is the kidnapper. Let's do this. Harry, energize." At Kathryn's command Harry tapped on a control console and the three Voyagers were transported onto the shuttle.

As soon as they materialized it became clear that the shuttle was empty and traveling on autopilot. Kathryn quickly checked the small restroom and the storage compartments just in case Amelia had been placed in one. She wasn't taking any chances.

"Four minutes until impact. Admiral it's encrypted and I don't know if I have time to break the code and take it off of autopilot. Do you want me to keep trying or focus on transporter logs to try and find out where they transported to?" B'Elanna wasn't sure she would be able to save the shuttle.

"You keep working on the navigation system, I'll work on the transporter logs. Jarvis contact the Flyer, have them keep a lock on us and an open comm line. Tell them to transport us out on my mark." Jarvis obeyed Kathryn's orders as she went to work on downloading the transporter logs. She found that an effort had been made to distort the order of the logs so that the last beam out would not appear last. It would not be difficult to find, but it would take a little longer. She eliminated all logs that were obviously to coordinates in another sector and continued on until there was under a minute left until impact.

"Admiral, I can't override the autopilot without more time." B'Elanna said urgently.

"Admiral we have to go." Jarvis cut in.

"One more second, I'm almost there." Kathryn's hands flew over the console desperate to get to the information.

"I'm sorry Admiral, we've got less than thirty seconds. Harry, energize." Jarvis was afraid Admiral Janeway would be angry but he wasn't about to let them all die on that shuttle.

Appearing on the Delta Flyer Kathryn Janeway quickly moved to the view screen and watched the shuttle she had just been on smash into the surface of the moon it had been heading for.

"Tom I got enough to know one portion of the coordinates. The transport took place along this plane." She entered information into the computer and pulled up an image for Tom to look at.

"Admiral, that plane intersects with all three planets."

"Yes, Tom, I know. We'll start with the closest planet to us and start our search along this plane. My children have been taught to always keep their communicators in their pockets or somewhere hidden on their clothes; with a little luck she'll still have it. We scan for Amelia's communicator; she's not on a Federation frequency. Security thought it best if she wasn't, but I have her frequency here, I'll program it into the flyer." Kathryn went to work programing in the frequency to her daughter's communicator.

VVVVV

Chakotay and Amelia arrived at Reyana's farm home at around mid-afternoon. It was a two story home, set on a large open plot of land, reminding Chakotay a bit of something one might find in rural Indiana. It had a large front porch, which, from what Chakotay could see, needed some major repairs to its railings and its steps. Many of the windows and shutters were in need of some attention as well. The pale yellow paint and white trim was peeling and in need of a reapplication. Despite the obvious need for repairs the home looked cared for; the windows were clean, the potted plants were green and thriving, and the porch had been swept. Chakotay cautiously knocked on the old and weathered screen door and made a mental note of the loose handle on it. They were met with a kindly, thin, old woman with silver hair. Chakotay gave Reyana the letter from her son-in-law and Chakotay immediately offered to help her in whatever needed to be done, so long as they could stay there for a little while. Reyana agreed, warning him that Amelia was never to be outside without him. She thanked him in advance for his help and said that his contribution would be welcomed. The woman eyed the little girl lovingly but with obvious pain. "My granddaughter was about your age when she was taken away. It almost took her father from us. Oh, little one, you are so beautiful just like my little Doriani was."

Amelia was a little frightened by the woman's reaction but Chakotay reassured her with an arm around her shoulders. "I won't be allowing Amelia out of my sight. Now if it would be alright with you I'd like to earn our keep. What can I help you with?"

Reyana directed him to the mesh like fencing around her garden at the rear of the house explaining that most of her food came from her own garden and her trees, not having the opportunity to travel to town often, but with the fence-like enclosure in need of repair the local wildlife was taking a good portion of the food. Chakotay directed Amelia to either sit on the porch or play within a few feet of wherever he stood. "I want you with in arms reach Amelia. I don't want to take any chances."

"Okay, Daddy." Amelia remembered she was to always address him as if he were her father.

Chakotay worked on repairing the fencing for a couple of hours before all the breaches were fixed. As he walked toward the rear entrance of the house he noticed Amelia sitting cross legged on the porch in an almost meditative state.

"Amelia?" No answer.

"Amelia?" He asked a little louder, placing his hand on her shoulder. Amelia finally looked up.

"What are you doing, honey?" He asked.

Amelia smiled and explained, "Sometimes when I sit real quiet and I concentrate I can see my quiet place and my guide. Mommy says I'm not supposed to tell what my guide is. Mommy says that my medicine bungle might help me, 'cause I can't always see her when I want." Chakotay was a little shocked that Kathryn had talked to her children about vision quests.

"Do you mean your medicine bundle?" Chakotay asked carefully. "Can you tell me what your mommy told you?" He settled down next to the child on the wooden paneled porch.

Amelia nodded and began, "I told Mommy that sometimes when I sleep I see, well… I'm not supposed to tell you what she is, but she's my guide. When I told Mommy about her she told me that sometimes her first officer would talk to his dad, who was in the spirit world, by doing a vision thing with a medicine bungle, but it doesn't really have medicine in it you know. It has things that are special to you. Well this officer who was first, I don't know what he was first to, but he was, he taught Mommy to use a medicine bungle and an achoo thingy to talk to her spirit guide. She says I can't have an achoo thingy until I'm bigger, but she said if she ever got the chance she'd ask him to help teach me more about the spirits and the vision thing. I try to see my sister Kaya, but I can't."

"She did, did she? She must think he knows a lot about the spirits." Amelia nodded in answer to his question.

"Now you say your sister? Why do you need to see your sister in the quest, can't you see her in person?" He urged the child, curiosity getting the better of him. He didn't know Kathryn had another child and now he wondered if she had left one behind when they took their excursion to the Delta Quadrant.

"She is with Grandfather. She was the last one born and bled too much. She was really sick and the doctor said she wouldn't get better. Mommy couldn't take care of her so she went with Grandfather and he takes care of her now. Maybe I'll see her if I concentrate like Mommy said to. But I can't see her or Grandfather. It's supposed to work better with my medicine bungle…"

"bundle." He interrupted then urged her to continue.

"…my medicine _bundle_, Mommy helped me make it. She said I have to be very quiet, my body and my thoughts, and sometimes it works, but I only see an old man who calls himself _Abuelo_. I like Abuelo, he is very nice to me. He likes that I call you Daddy. He said it makes him happy."

"I'm glad it makes him happy, it makes me happy too, but I don't know what your Mommy will say about it. Do you know if Kaya is older or younger than you?" He queried.

Amelia giggled, "She is the same as me and Eddie! Mommy says Kaya and me are denical, it means we looked the same."

"You mean identical. So there were three of you?"

Amelia nodded. "A bad man tried to take Mommy while we were still in her tummy. She had to fight to get away. Uncle Mike and Auntie Mirna helped her but the bad man still hurt her, and us too. That's why Kaya was sick and the doctor said she won't ever wake up. Aunt Phoebe said Mommy cried a lot when Kaya went with Grandfather." Amelia explained.

"Aunt Phoebe told you all this, sweetheart?" Chakotay's heart ached. Kathryn sent away her disabled child.

"Some of it Mommy and some of it Aunt Phoebe, and some of it I heard when Mommy was talking to Grandma and Aunt Phoebe, but I am not supposed to listen to grown up talk. Thinking about Kaya makes Mommy sad." Amelia explained.

"I see. Would you mind if I try to concentrate with you?" Chakotay asked.

Amelia giggled again. "I don't think it works with two people. Eddie and me never see our guides together."

"I'd like to try if it's okay with you."

"Okay."

Chakotay was intrigued by the child's claim. Chakotay was well aware that abuelo meant Grandfather in Spanish and he wondered who exactly was caring for Kaya, Kathryn's third child. They sat together trying to clear their minds, Chakotay holding on to Amelia's hands. They had been sitting for just a few minutes when Reyana opened the door and invited them in to have lunch. Chakotay hid his disappointment. The child, however, wasn't bothered by it at all; she was hungry and was happy to be fed.

Reyana served them a vegetable stew made from the products of her home grown garden. She apologized for not having any meat products to offer but she not only didn't have frequent access to them.

"As far as I'm concerned no apologies are necessary. I don't eat the flesh of other beings at all, but I enjoy a good vegetable soup. I'm a vegetarian." Explained Chakotay.

"Daddy? Does that mean you only eat vegetables?" asked Amelia.

"Vegetables, pasta, bread, beans, rice, other grains, and I do eat cheeses and milk products. As long as it isn't meat, and no beings had to die to provide the meal." He explained to the child.

"Oh. That's nice." Amelia thought it over and it seemed to make sense to her. She decided being a vegetarian was a good thing.

As they prepared for bed the old woman took a child's sleeping gown out of an old chest and offered it to Amelia. "I didn't keep much of my granddaughter's clothing but I'll have something for her to wear while her own clothing is laundered. The day's travel certainly has soiled her clothing. I should have something of my son's that you can wear, too. I'll launder your clothing first thing tomorrow. Now you two make sure you wash up before bed." Chakotay had to smile at the old woman's orders. "Yes, ma'am, but I can launder our clothing myself. You are doing too much for us already."

"Don't fret young man." Replied the old woman, "I'd much rather you spend your time fixing the doors on my food storage shed and repairing my porch steps. I'd hate to see someone get hurt on those."

Chakotay chuckled. "Yes ma'am. You just let me know how I can best help out while I'm here. I fully expect my people to come find us soon, so give me the most important work first. This little one's mother is one determined woman and I know she won't rest until she has her child with her again."

"You really think Mommy will find us?" Asked Amelia.

"I know it." Chakotay answered.

"Well, I'll hate to see you leave. I'm just barely getting to know you and I'm enjoying your company immensely, but a young girl needs her mother. I hope for your sakes it is as you say and your wife and your people will find you quickly." Reyana responded.

Amelia's eyes went wide. When they were finally alone she whispered to Chakotay, "Do you think Mommy could really be your wife like Reyana said? But you can't fight with her any more… then you could really be my Daddy, not just a pretend one?"

Chakotay kissed her forehead and tucked her into the small bed in what was obviously once a child's room. "We'll worry about your mother when she comes for us." He was moved by the child's words. He shared her wish; he didn't want to fight with Kathryn anymore. "Why don't I tell you a story?" Amelia nodded happily. Chakotay began the story but Amelia fell asleep almost immediately.

The next day, after lunch, and plenty of small talk, Reyana asked the child to help her clean up before going out to weed the garden with Chakotay. Reyana longed for the company of her grandchildren and she wanted to enjoy Amelia's company while she could. She spoke softly to the child as she showed her how to clean, dry, and put the dishes away. As they swept the dining area Rayana told Amelia of the games her granddaughter liked to play and she promised to teach the child a favorite puzzle game before bedtime. It was at least an hour before Amelia ran out to the garden to help Chakotay with the weeding.

In the evening when the trio had cleaned up dinner Reyana kept her word and taught the child the puzzle game her granddaughter had been so fond of, delighting in how quickly the child caught on to the game. The trio settled into a comfortable routine of sorts.


	10. Chapter 10

Just a short update. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave me your thoughts.

I still don't own the characters, or star trek, or voyager, or the delta flyer. I still make no money, but I do enjoy writing. Thanks to all who are following or have favorite. It's immensely rewarding to think you are enjoying my tale.

* * *

Gretchen sat on her bed reading a bedtime story to Miral and Eddie. Eddie held tight to his Grandmother. Once the story was finished Gretchen sent Miral off to bed to Amelia's room and and Eddie to his own. Morning found Miral in Eddie's room, as it had every morning all week. Gretchen sighed, _Thank goodness they're still so young._ At breakfast she spoke to Miral about going back home with her grandparents. After some argument and a little bit of guilt the child reluctantly agreed. "I guess I should be with Owen. I know Eddie is sad about 'Melia, Owen probably misses me, too. I'll go home and help Grandma take care of him." Admiral Paris came by to pick her up and promised to bring her back to check on Eddie again soon. Miral and Eddie went upstairs to gather her things. On the way back they sat on the stairs to listen when they heard the grownups talking.

"She's still very upset, Owen. Her parents both left and she saw Amelia taken, be patient." Gretchen told Owen Paris.

"I know. That's why we want her close, but she just wants to be here."

"Eddie was almost taken, maybe she feels they need to take care of each other. She did save him after all." Gretchen reasoned.

"I know it makes sense, but her grandmother still wants her with us."

"Of course she does, Owen. I understand. Owen, if you hear anything…" Gretchen's voice tapered off.

"Don't worry, if I hear anything I'll let you know right away."

"Thank you, Owen. What about Starfleet? Will they be in trouble for having rushed off without leave?"

"No. I've approved time off for everyone involved."

"Let's just hope everyone comes home safe and sound, and soon. "

"I'm sure they will, Gretchen, after all, this group made it through the Delta Quadrant together. Chakotay went with her and, from what I understand, anyone who so much as thought about crossing Katie had to answer to Chakotay. I'm told he'd put his life on the line without hesitation to keep her safe."

"Humpf!" Gretchen said indignantly, "He hasn't exactly kept her from getting hurt. If you ask me he's done more than his share of hurting her."

Owen considered his response carefully. "From what I understand, their's has been a complicated relationship, and there has been plenty of hurting on both sides. However, I'm told that together they are a force to be reckoned with. I'm sure they'll bring Amelia home safe."

Eddie wondered why Chakotay would hurt his mother and he decided that maybe he didn't like Chakotay after all.

VVVVV

Amelia played in the waist high yellow wild grass a few meters from where Chakotay was fixing the doors on a food storage shed. Once the doors were fixed he would start repairing and replacing damaged grain barrels. His eyes wandered over to the child who was happily skipping and singing amongst the grasses dotted with tiny blue and purple flowers. She looked so happy and so relaxed, such a contrast from the child that woke him in the middle of the night.

Amelia went to sleep during Chakotay's bedtime story. Sleep only lasted a few hours before her screams jolted Chakotay to his feet from a dead sleep. He bolted across the hall, from the guest room to the room Reyana had provided for the child. Amelia was still screaming when he entered the room. He'd found her laying down, drenched in sweat, fighting an unseen assailant and screaming for her mother. Chakotay turned on a lamp that sat on the nightstand and took Amelia by the shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Amelia. Amelia, sweetie wake up. Amelia!" He called to her.

The child's eyes flew open she sat up and began to sob.

"It's ok Amelia, I'm here. We're going to get you back to your Mommy, I promise. It's just going to take a little time. In the meantime I'm going to take care of you; no one is going to hurt you if I can help it." Chakotay soothed her.

Amelia nodded. "Can I sleep with you?" She asked timidly as she clung tightly to Chakotay.

"Why don't I just stay here with you until you fall asleep? I'll be in the other room if you need me, all you have to do is call, ok?" Chakotay reasoned.

"I'm scared, I want to stay with you." Amelia pleaded.

Chakotay insisted she stay in her own bed and stayed with her until sleep claimed her once again. Sometime in the night the child found her way to him anyway. He woke to find her snuggling up to his side. He sighed and moved over allowing more room for the child.

Amelia looked up at him from the field of wild grass and gave him an amused, crooked, half-smile and Chakotay marveled at how much she looked like her mother. _She should be mine,_ he thought sadly as he observed the little girl he was growing attached to.

"Amelia Janeway, what are you looking at?" He said playfully.

"Can I help?"

"Of course you can. Come on over here and I'll show you how I'm going to attach the hinges to the new door. You can help me by handing me the tools I need. Do you know what a screwdriver is?" He asked as he began teaching her the names of the different tools he used as well as how they were used. "You know if you like building and fixing things you could grow up to be an engineer and fix starship engines like my friend B'Elanna."

"You know Auntie B'Elanna? She's Miral's mom. I'm named for her." Amelia responded.

"Yes, I've known her for a really long time, even before she knew your Mom. I didn't know you were named after her." Chakotay was surprised.

"Yes, my whole name is Amelia B'Elanna Janeway. Mommy says they weren't always friends but they learned to be nice to each other now they are really good friends." Amelia elaborated.

"That's true and I'm very glad they're friends now."

"Me too 'cause Miral is my best friend and," she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "Eddie likes her and she likes Eddie too." She giggled as Chakotay laughed out loud, at the thought of a Paris-Janeway couple. From that point on Amelia helped Chakotay whenever she could in whatever way he would allow and Chakotay found that he missed the child whenever Reyana had Amelia spend time with her indoors. In the next few days Amelia's bond with Chakotay grew stronger and the child easily began to think of him as her 'Daddy'; the real thing. The fact that she had spent more time calling him Daddy than she had spent calling him Chakotay made it all the easier for her.

VVVVV

Admiral Kathryn Janeway and her crew aboard the Delta Flyer had spent three days searching the nearest plant for signs of her daughter and Chakotay. They took shifts resting and scanning, with someone always alert and working.

They began by searching the plane where the transporter coordinates she received intersected the nearest planet, when that didn't produce results they expanded outwards until they had scanned the entire planet.

"Are there any readings that might suggest dampening or scattering fields or anything similar, maybe minerals that our scans can't penetrate?" A frustrated Kathryn Janeway asked.

"It looks like there might be some caves or mines in this area." B'Elanna said as she pointed at a spot on the southern hemisphere of the computer generated map. "Once we've checked there I think we should move on to the next planet." Suggested B'Elanna.

"Knox to Delta Flyer please respond." A hail came in.

"This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway. Go ahead Knox."

"Kathryn, sweetheart, I have some information on where she might be. Our engines are up and running again, we'll join you shortly. Please don't make any moves until we get there. We have enough to bring the whole operation down, we have reinforcements coming. If we do this right we may be able to bring down those within Starfleet that are supporting this operation." Edward Janeway's voice came through the audio only transmission. If the crew aboard the Delta Flyer hadn't noticed the nickname he used for her before they were certainly aware of him calling her sweetheart now. They glanced at each other incredulously.

"What makes you think there was anyone in Starfleet involved Admiral?" Kathryn ignored the term of endearment.

"We've had a chance to interrogate the prisoners. Apparently when they realized that the equipment was spying on them they explained the situation to their contact, giving him Chakotay's description. It wasn't hard to determine who he was given all the publicity _Voyager_ received; his address however wasn't public knowledge. The contact wasn't able to tell them what his assignment was or his whereabouts but _was_ able to get his address of residence which they watched constantly. Anytime he was home on leave they followed him and sent women to hit on him, and go out with him all hoping to get some revealing pillow talk; that's how that woman ended up at your home as his date. The point, however, is that a person has to have a certain level of clearance within Starfleet to have access to his address of residence, especially given his status with the Rangers. I need you to wait for us before acting. We don't want to tip our hand too soon, besides we have reinforcements coming and they consist of quite a few of your old Voyager crew." Edward explained.

"So you know which planet they took her to."

"Yes, but like I said before, Goldenbird, I need you to wait for us."

"Which planet is it Admiral?" Kathryn demanded.

"You know I can't tell you. You'll just go running off before we get there."

"Damn right I will, _Admiral_. I'm not in the habit of sacrificing my daughter in exchange for the _possibility_ of capturing a criminal. Apparently your daughter wasn't as important to you as your duty as an Admiral, but that isn't the case for me. Tell me which planet mydaughter is on!" Kathryn snapped.

The passengers aboard the Delta Flyer looked at each other in astonishment unsure of what to make of the conversation Kathryn was having.

"That's unfair Goldenbird." Edward tried to calm the situation.

"You lost the right to call me that! Tell me where my daughter is!" Kathryn took a deep breath and moment to calm herself. "I'll tell you what, we'll go in solely to rescue Amelia and Chakotay, you handle whatever else is going on when you get here. I don't care about anything but Amelia." Kathryn's temper was rising and she was holding on to the last shred of control she had.

"Kathryn…" Edward was cut off by a very irate Admiral Kathryn Janeway.

"No, Admiral, tell me where she is or I'll tell the world who you _really_ are; who is commanding the Knox! Where is she?" Kathryn demanded.

"Ok fine, but try to do this quietly. We'll be there in about two hours, as I said our engines are operable again. She was taken to the pre-warp M-class planet, it's called Tepatalina. It is the middle planet. There's a criminal network in the northern hemisphere hidden by scattering fields and buildings made of an alloy that is impenetrable to standard scanners. Warp capable ships come and go but the local inhabitants chose to forgo technology long ago. Unfortunately for them those who would victimize them did not. They chose a simpler way of life only to be terrorized by this group of criminals who do have technology and use it against the residents." Edward explained.

Kathryn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "This sounds familiar." The former Maquis in the group shared a knowing nod. Something similar had happened in Chakotay's home planet as well as a few others of the many terrorized by the Cardassians.

With a deep sigh Kathryn relayed her plans to her father, "I'll enter into standard orbit around the planet and scan for Amelia's commbadge. It'll take us about two hours to get there, so you may have time to arrive before we actually set foot on the planet. If you arrive in time we can each launch our separate missions simultaneously or even together, depending on circumstances, and what we find. Just be aware that I won't wait for you if I see an opportunity to rescue Amelia and Chakotay."

"Understood." Edwards confident voice faltered just a bit as he said, "I love you, Goldenbird." Then with renewed confidence he continued to say, "Knox out."

Kathryn Janeway dropped her head and took a deep breath before turning to her crew. Cursing the tears that had gathered in her eyes she issued her commands. The crew, professional as they were, ignored the gathering tears in Kathryn's eyes and proceeded to the center planet. That didn't keep them from wondering exactly what the conversation had meant.


	11. Chapter 11

The usual disclaimers apply.

* * *

The Delta flyer arrived at Tepatalina and entered into a smooth orbit around the planet. They scanned and mapped its territories and began looking for possible energy fluctuations or other signs that might signal a disruption or scattering field. Running every scan they could think of they located several suspicious areas where they believed illegal operations may be hidden. They also located Amelia's comm badge. After trying in vain to penetrate the fields for a better look at the site of the criminal operations Tom was anxious and ready for action.

"Shall we go get her Admiral?" Asked Tom.

"Hold on Tom. We don't know if her badge was taken from her. If we storm the wrong location that might give them enough time to contact each other and we might blow our chance. Let's do a little reconnaissance first. It doesn't look like there is a force field around the area where her commbadge is located. We'll get a look around before we make a move, but first I need to make a call. Get me Jupiter Station."

"Aye, Admiral." Tom answered.

Dr. Zimmerman came on the screen and Kathryn quickly asked if he knew the whereabouts of Voyager's former EMH or Seven of Nine.

"Yes, Admiral, they are both here on Jupiter Station, but it's 0140 hours here. They are probably in bed, or well, at least Seven is probably regenerating. I have a project that is keeping me up anyway is there anything I can help you with?" His words didn't quite match the surly attitude they were spoken with.

"No thank you Dr. Zimmerman, I really need to speak to Seven, would you please get her for me?"

After muttering about something or other Dr. Zimmerman opened a link to Seven and connected the call to Seven's room where the Doctor could be seen occupying the bed behind her.

"Seven!"

"Admiral, what can I do for you?"

"I need your help Seven. I need you to look at some energy readings I believe are scattering fields and tell me if you know how to penetrate them or counter them. Or if you can tell me anything else about them at all."

"Send me the information. I will look at it and get back to you." Seven agreed.

"Time is of the essence Seven."

"Understood. I assume this is about your daughter. The Doctor informed me of what happened at your children's birthday party. I will be as swift as possible. Seven out."

The Knox arrived and joined the Delta Flyer in its orbit around Tepatalina. Edward Janeway quickly contacted Kathryn to determine what she had found and to convince her to let him lead the rescue. They gathered around the briefing room on the Knox once more. Kathryn was joined by Tom, Jarvin, and Nicoletti. B'Elanna was given strict instructions to beam them all back if she didn't hear from them in twenty minutes.

Kathryn shared the information they had gathered from the planet. She identified the areas that seemed to be protected and pointed out the energy fluctuations they had identified.

"Amazing. How did you find these?" Edward questioned.

"We used a few tricks we learned in the Delta Quadrant. We came across some interesting technology out there. The Vadiians could put up holographic rock walls that scanned as the real thing if you didn't know what to look for; almost cost Neelix his life. Seven is looking this over, she's going to try to find a way for us to penetrate the field." Explained Kathryn.

"I knew… I mean I'd heard, I didn't realize how… I knew about the technology you'd brought back but I guess it's not the same as seeing it put to use." Edward was impressed.

"Yes, well we didn't survive the Delta Quadrant buy being timid. We put all our resources to good use and developed, borrowed, and adapted every bit of technology that we could." Kathryn answered.

"Delta Flyer to Admiral Kathryn Janeway." B'Elanna's voice came through Kathryn's commbadge.

"Go ahead B'Elanna."

"I have Seven on the comm unit here, she believes that the field is set up so that messages can be received into their computer system. She said something about a disguised link that exposed the system set up. Anyway she thinks she can send the system a virus that will disable the field. She is sending me the file with the virus but she's warned me that any system that opens it will be permanently damaged."

"Understood. Thank her for me and stand by for orders."

"Aye, Admiral." B'Elanna acknowledged.

"Let's get some teams ready. We'll send recon units to get a visual before we knock out the force fields. We want to see what we're dealing with before we enter." Announced Admiral Edward Janeway.

"I'm going to the location where Amelia's commbadge was located first. Chakotay's commbadge wasn't located anywhere on the planet, but we can't make any assumptions, he may or may not be there. Amelia's commbadge is about eight miles south of the location of the force fields. My team and I will join you once we've determined if she's there or not." Kathryn informed him.

"Can't you just scan for her biosignature?" Asked Edward.

"We don't have her biosignature programed into any system. Ayala said it was best to keep it that way in case any systems were accessed by those who would harm us." Kathryn stated as Ayala nodded. "The inhabitants of the planet are all human and we have detected humans in the general area where her commbadge is located." Kathryn explained.

"Yes, humans colonized the planet in the twenty second century and rejected modern technology; opting to live a more primitive lifestyle. Many of them, the younger ones especially, may not even know our technology exists."

"You said they were being exploited by those with the technology. They must know it exists; must have seen it." Countered Kathryn.

"Some of them do I'm sure. Either way we should be careful what we allow them to see. It doesn't look like there is much at the location where her commbadge is. Are you sure it wasn't just discarded there?" Edward asked pointedly.

"That's what we're going to find out." With that Kathryn stood and gathered her team including Ayala.

"Goldenbird, take Henderson and Ryder with you just in case."

"Only if they understand that I'm giving the orders while they are with me." Edward nodded at the two men and they joined Kathryn and her crew as they beamed back to the flyer.

"So, _Goldenbird…_" Tom smirked as he spoke, "…what's the plan?"

Kathryn shook her head knowing that Tom had recognized her father, but realizing that he was probably the only one. She mentally gave him credit for keeping perfect composure despite the surprise that must have been for him, until she realized that, having been in covert ops, Tom might have known about Edward Janeway long before she did.

"We beam down and take a look around."

"That's it?" Tom raised his brow.

"That's it. We beam into this wooded area here and approach from all sides with caution. Nobody moves into the open or into any buildings without my approval. Understood?" Kathryn was answered by a chorus of "Aye, Admiral."

When they beamed down it was a little after noontime where Chakotay and Amelia were located. They had finished their lunch and Chakotay had stepped out the back door to retrieve some tools from the shed. He then proceeded to the front of the house where he was working on repairs to the front porch and the shutters on the windows in that area. Amelia helped Reyana with the after meal clean up, as had become their routine. When she was done she exited the house, by way of the back porch, in search of Chakotay.

As the recon team neared the home they took cover behind trees and tall grasses; inching as close as possible. Henderson found himself crouching low in the tall grass by the shed with an excellent view of the back of the house when Amelia came bounding out looking around for Chakotay. Kathryn and Ayala were on the opposite side of the house and from their location they could not see Amelia.

Amelia scanned the garden and the fields and decided to check the shed as she could see one of the doors standing open. As she neared the shed a shuffling noise caught her attention and she saw a man dressed in black crouching in the golden grasses just ahead of her. She turned and ran screaming, as he knew he'd been discovered, Henderson took the chance and popped out of the grass as he opened a link to the team.

"I've got her, she's running down the west end of the house; she's going around to the front." He called out as he chased Amelia.

Amelia screamed out "DADDY!" as she ran away from the stranger chasing her. As she rounded the corner to the front of the house a strong arm swept her protectively out of the way and behind the owner's solid body. Henderson rounded the corner a second behind her and his face met the base of Chakotay's palm. Henderson's feet flew forward out from under him as his head flew back. He landed flat on his back staring up at the sky. It took him a moment to realize he was on the floor and that his nose was broken.

Chakotay gathered Amelia into his arms and was rounding the front porch in order to get her into the house when he saw Kathryn, running full speed, around the corner on the east side of the house. He stopped and looked around at the sound of more racing footfalls and recognized Tom and Jarvin. He looked back to Kathryn, whom was trailed by Ayala, and was now stopped and staring at him not five feet away.

"Kathryn?"

At the sound of her mother's name Amelia, who had hidden her face in Chakotay's chest, looked up.

"Mommy?" She said as she looked around. "Mommy!"

Kathryn ran forward and pulled her daughter out of Chakotay's arms.

"Oh, Amelia! Thank God you're safe. I missed you so much." Kathryn couldn't help the tears that were forming.

"Daddy took care of me. He saved me from the man in the shuttle and the men who steal all the children with no Mommies or Daddies; and Reyana let us stay here. She's nice; I help her cook and clean up and I helped Daddy fix things." Amelia was rambiling on and hugging her mother tight as she spoke.

Kathyn looked up at Chakotay. She hesitated for a moment then rushed forward and hugged him with one arm and thanking him many times over. Chakotay slowly lifted his arms to hug her back, not sure if she'd be okay with it. He had half expected her to be angry at him. She didn't pull away when she felt his arms but instead laid her head against his shoulder.

"Thank God you were with her." She slowly pulled back and asked, "The kidnapper?"

Chakotay's mind filled with the images of the dead man lying in the alley. "Um, well I saw an opportunity and I yelled at Amelia to run. I went for his phaser. Amelia got away and I was lucky enough to find her later."

"Is he still after you?" Kathryn looked around as she spoke.

"No, but let's talk about this later. Get Amelia to a safe place. Things aren't right around here." Chakotay was speaking when Reyana came out of the house.

Reyana smiled as she saw them standing together. "I see you were right, Chakotay. Your wife did come find you. You're a lucky woman, these two are wonderful."

Chakotay smiled a little embarrassed, and more then a little worried, but Kathryn answered her quickly and without hesitation. "Yes, they are; and I've missed them terribly. Thank you for giving them a place to stay."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, dear. They helped me more then I helped them. Won't you come in for a drink?" Reyana invited them in.

Kathryn looked around at her team and said, "I think one of my men needs some medical attention."

"I'll take him and Amelia to the flyer Admiral. Henderson can be beamed to sickbay on the Knox from there." Tom offered.

Kathryn nodded in agreement but Amelia refused to release Kathryn, even for Uncle Tommy. "No, I'm staying with Mommy and Daddy." She stated firmly. Chakotay pulled on his ear nervously wondering how Kathryn was taking Amelia calling him Daddy. If she had been angry when the child called him Uncle she must be furious with him now. He would explain it to her as soon as he got a chance.

"Knox to Kathryn Janeway." Edward Janeway's voice came through her commbadge.

"Janeway here Admiral. We've recovered Amelia; she's safe." There was obvious relief in Kathryn's voice.

"Thank God! The virus Seven sent is just beginning to work, but our teams have a visual on several locations. It seems the group we're dealing with specializes in the slave labor of children. Our recon teams saw a group of about a dozen children carrying tools being led into a mine. There are also several buildings of unknown purpose with hundreds of life signs inside. From what the teams around the buildings saw it's possible there are groups of children being trained for domestic service, and God knows what else, there is evidence of training for… _entertainment._" Edward Janeway said with disgust then added, "I'm guessing those are trained here and sold off to other planets."

"Oh, my poor, sweet Doriani!" Reyana cried out in distress. The group had forgotten that she was standing there listening in on everything.

Kathryn looked at Chakotay with a concerned and questioning glance. "Let's talk inside."

After leading the team into Reyana's home Chakotay explained.

"Her granddaughter was taken eight seasons ago, from my best estimates that's about a year and a half earth time. She said she was about Amelia's age when she was taken." Chakotay paused for a moment and continued, "Kathryn, children on this planet are taken all the time. Doriani was taken while she was with her paternal grandmother. The _authorities_ claim that if they aren't with their mother or father then they are unsupervised and take them to what the locals call the "orphan camps" or something like that."

"Oh God! Chakotay, If you hadn't been with her…" Kathryn's voice trailed off.

"We have to do something. People around here don't let their kids outside out of fear." He continued.

"Dat splanes da dose." Henderson muttered.

"What?" Asked Kathryn confused.

"By dose, it splanes why he boke by dose!"

"I think he's trying to say that now he understands why Chakotay broke his nose, you know when he chased after Amelia." Tom chimed in with a smirk.

"Goldenbird, I'm still here." Kathryn remembered the open link to her father and indicated for him to continue, "Sorry Admiral go ahead."

"I'm going to need all my available men, and if any of your team would like to help as well. We will wait for reinforcements to make a move, that's going to take another two days or so. I'm not sure how many of those we detected are children and how many are criminals. We may need more people to make this work; there will be a lot of children to be rescued. For now we stick to recon only. Get whatever information you can, from the woman there. Then we'll meet here on the Knox."

"Admiral, maybe we could use some of the locals." Chakotay suggested, "Many of them have had their children taken, they may want to help. Besides, if we free all those children someone will have to lead them away and to safety."

"See what you can do. Report what you find at the meeting. We'll meet at 1000 tomorrow. Knox out."

Reyana looked over at Chakotay and Kathryn in amazement. "You're going to help us get our children back? I'll help look after some of the children."

Chakotay looked over at Kathryn, "Why don't you take Amelia to the Knox and have someone look after her there. I have a feeling the Admiral would like to meet her. I'll go with Reyana to the town and set up some safe houses willing to take in the children temporarily. I'm sure Reyana and Dethrel will know of people we can trust." He looked questioningly over at Reyana who nodded in agreement.

Kathryn hesitated for a moment, a part of her wanting to go with Chakotay, but her need to ensure Amelia's safety won out. "Good idea, Chakotay. Take Amelia's commbadge so we can locate you. I'll beam down to your location after leaving Amelia. Paris, Ayala, Ryder, you go with Chakotay. Henderson, Jarvin you'll go back with me to the Knox."

Everyone nodded their agreement. Kathryn took Amelia and beamed to the Knox with Henderson and Jarvin. Chakotay contacted the Delta Flyer and had B'Elanna beam Harry, Celes and Jarvis down to help him organize the town's people and prepare some safe houses.


End file.
